Like Mother, Like Son
by Omega Ultra
Summary: To many, Rita Loud is just a typical mother working a full-time job to support her eleven kids. But, when Lincoln comes home with a flyer for a video game tournament, he discovers a part of her that she had buried a long time ago. Cover by 氷熊 (Ink).
1. A Hidden Past

**A/N Man, it's been a little more than a week since I last posted and 3 months since I ended my last major story. After that, I really needed a break and some time to write the extremely surreal and strange (aren't those synonyms?) Bun Bun story… which is still in my queue! I just have to get to it!**

 **Anyways, this was originally supposed to be a one-shot I wrote over spring break… instead I ended up writing a full-length fic. Oh well, I'm planning on writing the Bun Bun story/ the Lana story I have planned like this anyways. So, this story is prewritten all I'm doing now is editing and posting the chapters.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy! I thank Wolvenstrom for requesting this fic and helping me out!**

 **R &R!**

Chapter One: A Hidden Past

"I can't believe it Clyde!" Lincoln held a small flier up to the sky, allowing the sun to glow through its translucent paper. "The League of Heroes 2: Ancient Defenders Open Queue Tournament is finally coming to Royal Woods!"

"And the winner gets two hundred and fifty thousand dollars!" Clyde spoke with an equally excited voice, before he let out a breath in disappointment. "I'm sorry I won't be able to go with ya Linc, but my dads really wanna go upstate so that can meet up with their accountant."

"No worries Clyde, I understand," the white-haired boy waved his companion off. "I'll just ask someone else to go with me," he rubbed his chin. "I mean, Ronnie Anne plays it too, doesn't she?"

Yet, his friend simply shrugged in response. "I dunno Linc, just because a lot of our friends are into this game, doesn't mean that they're gonna wanna play in a huge tournament like this," he turned towards his friend and motioned with his hand. "I mean, it's one thing to stay up late playing online, it's another to actually try and win a major tournament like this. You heard what Gus said! The last time they came over a thousand people showed up!"

"I know Clyde, I know," Lincoln shoved the flier in his pocket and turned to his friend. "But you never know, maybe I'll even be able to win on my own, right?" he looked ahead, towards the clear afternoon sky. "Plus… I don't know why, but I still wanna go, even if Clincoln McLoud can't."

"I guess that's all right," Clyde shrugged, before facing forward once more. "So, do you think the Dragon of Royal Woods is gonna show up?"

"Do you really think that a random girl really won the tournament the last time it came to Royal Woods?" The white-haired boy raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Clyde nodded in response. "Yeah. I mean, these are E-sports after all. It's one of the very few places where there isn't a separate men and women's divisions for competing."

"But I mean…" Lincoln started, only to stop himself mid-sentence. For a moment, he stared at the ground ahead, his mind weighing the probabilities. After telling the duo about the videogame tournament coming to Royal Woods, Gus had told them about a quirky young girl- one of the few who had decided to attend and by far the least expected to win.

And yet, he insisted on the idea that she had won, even going as far as defeating the reigning champion of the game in a full match. "… It's just so hard to believe, ya know?"

"Heh, maybe it is," Clyde chuckled. "But sometimes, being an underdog just means you've got something to prove."

"Anyways…" Lincoln shook his head. "I doubt it Clyde. Remember what Gus said, no one's seen her play in over thirteen years. Why would she suddenly decide to come out of retirement just to join some random open queue tournament?" For a moment, the idea of a middle-aged woman walking into the venue and saying. "Hey, I'd like to play" popped into his head, causing him to laugh. "Heck, if she did I'd owe you five bucks!"

Clyde cracked a smile. "Deal."

"Heh, and on the off chance that I meet the Dragon of Royal Woods, I'll make sure to take a photo of her so you can tell me you told me so when you get back, ok?" Lincoln stifled a chuckle, before stopping in front of a familiar home.

"All right buddy," the dark-skinned boy smiled at his best friend. "If you want some help practicing in the meantime, just call. I finished my homework during lunch so I'll be able to log on whenever you need me."

Lincoln offered his fist in response. "Awesome, thanks Clyde!"

"It's no problem," Clyde responded by bumping his fist. "Just remember, I gotta take breaks every twenty minutes or else my eyes my get damaged," he turned and waved, before walking away. "See ya, Link!"

"See ya!" The white-haired boy waved his friend off once more, before turning to face his home. _"The Dragon of Royal Woods… real or not, it doesn't matter to me. I'm gonna enter and win!"_ and with that, he rushed to the door. _"I just hope I can convince mom and dad to let me play!"_

On a normal day, he would spend the next few hours thinking about just how to set up his presentation. How he would grab his parents' attention and pull them along his rabbit hole of desires in hopes of having them sign off on what he wants. _"But I just don't have the time right now! Dangit, I wish Gus had told me about this sooner!"_ He grit his teeth and stopped at the front door. _"All I can hope for right now is that I can do well off-the-cuff and that they're in a good mood._

And so, the young boy took a deep breath. _"There's no time to waste. Lets do this!"_ With that, he pushed the door open… only for a soccer ball to fly at his face.

"Incoming!" Lynn shouted, quickly sliding down the stairway railing in pursuit. "Watch your head, bro!"

"G'ahh!" Lincoln shouted, as he held his hands in front of his face, luckily stopping the ball before it could knock him unconscious. _"I don't need to have a tragedy before the tourney."_

"Good hands bro," the young athlete hopped off the banister and landed in front of her younger brother, grabbing the ball from him as soon as she hit the floor. "Maybe one day you'll be able to compete with me. My team has been lookin' for a new goalie."

"No thanks Lynn," Lincoln waved her off. "You know sports aren't my thing."

"What can I say?" She shrugged. "A girl can dream, can't she?"

"True, true," the boy shrugged as well. "But didn't mom and dad tell you to stop playing soccer indoors? I mean you almost knocked my head off with that!"

"I'm just warming up!" The brown-haired girl waved her brother off. "Besides, if you can't have a little fun, what's the point of playin' around?!"

" _Well, given just how many lamps and vases she's broken from her 'practice' and 'warm-ups', mom and dad would beg to differ,"_ yet, the white-haired boy simply sighed, knowing that his sister would continue on no matter what he said. "Ehh, I guess you've got a point," he looked into her eyes with a begging gaze. "Just be careful, please. I really don't wanna have try and gluing something back together… again."

"No promises!" Lynn threw her head back in laughter, before rushing out the door.

"Just please try not to break the TV, I need it for something later!" Lincoln shouted as the young woman threw the ball up and hit it with her head, sending in flying up into the air.

"Don't worry bro, I'm already on it." The young athlete waved him off once more, before jumping up and back flipping, hitting the soccer ball as she did so, before landing. "I need the TV too, ya know!" And with that, she ran after the ball, no doubt the item having crashed into the neighbor's yard.

" _I just hope she doesn't go back on her word,"_ he shook his head and turned, only for Luan to stand in front of him before he could bolt into the kitchen.

"Hey Linc!" She greeted with a warm smile. "What did the lion say to the tiger?"

Lincoln tilted his head in curiosity. "Uhh, what?"

"You're a striped T!" She threw her head back in laughter, before wiping a tear from her eye and raising the puppet resting on her arm. "Haha! What'd ya think, Mr. Coconuts?"

"I thought that was corny!" He spoke with an excited voice, before turning to Lincoln. "It was almost corny as popcorn!" And with that, the duo laughed, leaving the lone boy of the Louds standing by, unsure of just what to do.

"Uhh Luan, what're you doing?" The boy tilted his head the other way.

"What does it look like? I'm practicing!" She turned to look into her brother's eyes and spoke with a matter-of-factly tone. "Because I won the junior comedian's contest a few weeks ago, I qualified for the senior comedian's contest in a few weeks!" She then ran her free hand through Lincoln's hair. "I gotta prepare ya know!"

" _Just like what I'm gonna have to do."_ Lincoln nodded in understanding. "All right then, I guess that makes sense," he shrugged, before looking up at her. "By the way, have you seen mom and dad? I need to ask them something."

Luan nodded. "Yeah, they're at the table working on stuff, so I don't think it'd be a **food** idea to bother them now!" She threw her head back in laughter once more, before quickly refocusing on her brother. "But seriously, from what I saw, they're not doing much, so I think it's a great time."

 _He_ smiled with that. "Thanks so much, Luan!"

"No problem," she replied with a smile, before stepping aside. And wordlessly, he ran passed her, leaving his older sister to talk to her puppet.

"All right Rita, I think I've outdone myself this time!" Lynn Sr. held out a small plate of food in front of his wife. It was simple, being on a small set of mashed potatoes topped with a leaf. No doubt that there would be something else to make it more interesting.

For a moment, Rita took in the sight, before returning her focus to the random papers she had scattered on their table. "That looks good, what is it, Lynn?"

"It's my new recipe for mashed potatoes! Instead of just potatoes, I used-" he tried to explain, only for his son to cut him off by running into the room.

"Mom! Dad! Check this out!" He shouted, raising the crumpled up flier as he did so.

Instantly, the two adults turned to face their son, with Lynn Sr. tilting his head in curiosity. "Hey Lincoln, what's goin' on?"

Immediately, he held the flier up to his parents, a hopeful grin filling his face. _"This has to work, I just know it will!"_ Before he spoke with an excited tone. "Check this out! There's gonna be a big videogame tournament next week and the winner gets a huge prize!" He pulled back, taking the chance to look at his parents with a begging gaze and child-like smile. "Can I go? Please mom and dad?!"

For a moment, the two adults remained silent, seemingly unsure of just how to react.

Though, the moment soon passed and Lynn Sr. turned away with his dish. "I'm not sure son, you might have to tell me more."

"Ok," the boy smiled, while he mentally kicked himself. _"I knew I should've tried to make a presentation for them! This is the first time I've tried it like this…"_ he took a deep breath and steeled his nerves. _"But, he didn't say no! So that means I still have a chance!"_ He refocused his gaze upon his parents; not noticing that his mother had seemingly froze up at the question. "So, uhh… what do you wanna know?"

"When's the tournament going on exactly?" The man continues, his voice seemingly softening as he did so. "I know it's summer and all, but we're doing stuff ya know!"

Quickly, Lincoln looks over the flier once more, taking the chance to confirm his knowledge. "It's gonna be this Saturday for the pre-lim rounds. And whoever manages to make the top eight get to come back on Sunday for the final round!"

The man hesitated for a moment, before shaking his head. "I'm sorry son, but I don't think it's a good idea."

Lincoln's heart sank. "W-why dad?"

"Son, I know you love playing those games and stuff, but… well… you need to study for school! It doesn't help that this tournament lasts all weekend if you do well! Think of your grades!"

For a moment, Lincoln hesitates, taking the chance to carefully choose his argument. "But, it's summer, dad! Plus, doesn't Lynn have her own games this time of year? I mean she's on like five sports, one's bound to have something to do, right?"

"That's different, Lincoln." Lynn Sr. didn't hesitate to answer. "She could put the fact that she's on so many teams on her application for college and might even be able to get a scholarship from them," he let out a deep breath and looked his son in the eyes, "But when it comes to videogames, there really isn't much you can do with it. You can't make a living off them. And no one's gonna hire-"

"G'ahh!" Yet, before he could finish, Rita sent her elbow into his side, forcing him to reel back in surprise and look at his wife in shock. "R-Rita? What was that for?"

"Lynn, please, I need to talk to Lincoln about this," she looked into Lincoln's begging eyes while her voice filled with a strange heat. It was almost as if she had heard those words before.

"We heard dad scream, what's going on?!" Lori shouted as she and the rest of the girls stuck their heads through the dining room doorway.

Rita immediately stood up and leaned against the table. "Sorry kids, I was just getting your father to stop talking about videogames for a moment," the woman shook her head and smiled, waving her children off as she does so.

"Ugh," her husband rubbed his aching side. "Rita, what was that for?"

"Lynn… videogames aren't worthless," she looked at her husband with a soft, caring gaze. "They may not build up your body like physical sports, but they do challenge your mind in ingenious ways. Though, most people don't know this because it's such a niche subject to talk about."

The man raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Since when have you thought so highly of that stuff, Rita?"

"For a long time Lynn," the woman turned to face her eleven children. "Believe it or not I was a pro-gamer when I was younger."

"What?!" A collective shout echoed through the home while their children's eyes went wide in shock

"R-really mom?!" Lincoln took a single step forward, seemingly unsure of just how to react to revelation.

The woman sighed and nodded. "Yes, and unlike what your father was saying, becoming a pro is an accomplishment worth of award. It required hours upon hours of intense practice to even break into the minor leagues. I used to spend sixteen hours a day on a given game and platform just so I could memorize attack patterns, learn the controls and little nuances present in the coding! And when I was done there, I had to learn how to anticipate an opponent's strategy!" Suddenly, a commanding air overtook her as glared at her husband. "I didn't earn all those trophies I left at my parent's house by just waltzing into a convention center and playing just for the fun of it all!"

She then turned back at her son, her gaze softening while his eyes filled with wonder and amazement.

" _M-mom was a gamer?!"_ His mind raced in surprise, though his response still alluded him.

"That is literally hard to believe, mom," Lori spoke up once more, tilting her head in confusion as she did so.

"Yeah!" Lola flared her arms. "Lincoln's gonna rot his brain out if he keeps playing those things and reading comic books! What are you talking about being good at them?!"

"Plus, you're acting like they're an actual sport or something!" Lynn cut in, crossing her arms and staring in disappointment. "Last I checked, there's no college letting people in for just playing games on a computer!"

Yet, their mother simply chuckled. "That's where I beg to differ," she then stepped passed her children made her way to the stairs, motioning them to follow. "Come with me everyone, I have something to show you."

The children looked amongst each other for a moment, before shrugging and following their mother, leaving their father alone in the kitchen.

He hesitated for a moment, surprise filling his body. _"First she knows how to fly a plane and now she's a pro-gamer?! What else don't I know about you, Rita?"_ He shook his head. _"I can't let it get to me,"_ before following the rest of his family.

Soon after that, the whole Loud Family stood in the attic, with their matriarch digging through the random boxes in search of proof for her claims.

"Lets see here… nineteen ninety-nine… two thousand… Two thousand one, two… here it is!" She declared, before she pulled a box marked "2003" and placed it in front of them. "This is from the my last year competing. While I left most of my trophies behind, I kept this one as a memento."

And with that, she opened the box and pulled out the object, allowing it to shine before the eleven children and man. It was beautiful, with two plastic towers adorned with gold trim and topped with golden eagles. At the trophy's top was a small platform topped with two strange characters dressed in overalls high-fiving while jumping in the air, while its base was adorned with marble and covered by a black plaque.

Suddenly, Lori's eyes went wide in realization. "W-wait… t-that's what it was for?!"

Rita gave a prideful smile and nodded. "I knew you'd remember this old thing, Lori," she chuckled. "Why, I remember you trying to climb it! Ahh the memories," and with that she pat it, her gaze softening at the thought.

"Uhh… who's Rita Oak?" Lana leaned in closer, rubbing her chin as she did so.

"That was my name before I married your father," she rubbed her daughter's head.

"I don't get it though…" Leni spoke up. "You, like, sound like you were really good at those games Linky likes! So why don't you play them anymore?" She tilted her head in confusion.

The woman took a deep breath with that. "I'll admit, I didn't quit until I found out I was pregnant with Luan," she rubbed the back of her head and chuckled. "I somehow managed to stay a pro gamer even with Lori, Leni and Luna running around and making messes in the little house we used to have… though looking back on it, I think that was the best practice I could've ever gotten."

She turned back to her family. "I considered trying to keep up with the competitive scene even while I was pregnant, but I realized that it just wasn't possible. Our family was growing and my career as a pro gamer was really demanding," her voice filled with a pang of regret. "Sometimes, I would have to go entire nights without sleep because I would have to balance taking care of you guys and practice. And that's not even mentioning what I would have to do to actually participate!" She looked away, her mind racing back to those days of old; back to when the Loud Family wasn't so loud. "Since most competitions don't have a set venue from which to hold tournaments, I would end up travelling a lot just to make every tournament I could. And when I got to where I needed to be, the stress I would be under wasn't healthy for a mother, let alone one-to-be of four, to handle."

"I see and so, because of those mental factors, you feared your physical health would decline?" Lisa rubbed her chin, seemingly trying to understand what she was getting at.

She nodded and spoke with a strong tone. "That… and the fact that after everything's said and done, there was always the chance that I could lose a given tournament and go home empty handed. When it was just me, that was a risk I'd be willing to take, after all, I had a lot in savings and from my sponsors, but when you have to take care of children… big rewards for high risk gambles don't seem too appealing anymore."

"Did you know any of this, dad?" Luna turned back to her father with a curious gaze. "You've been awfully quiet ever since mom started talking about this stuff."

The man's face instantly went red in embarrassment. "I'll be honest… I did know a bit," he quickly focused his gaze upon his wife. "But I always thought that you just did this stuff to distract the kids!" He flared his arms in surprise. "I mean, whenever I came with and watched you, I always saw Lori, Leni and Luna just watching you play and being quiet!"

"And you never wondered where mom was getting all her winnings from?" Lori raised an eyebrow.

The man rubbed the back of his head once again. "I just assumed that Rita's parents were sending money to help us out, you know, since I was working full time and she would always come by with a several thousand dollar check every other weekend."

"All my parents ever sent us were condoms and manuals how to use them," Rita mumbled before looking back at her husband. "Really Lynn? Did you really forget I used to play these things when I was younger?" She chuckled. "Heh, I remember you trying to impress me by challenging me on one of our dates."

"He did?!" Lola looked up in surprise.

The woman nodded. "Yeah, but your father never liked them as much as I did, so I had an easy time mopping the floor with him."

"I remember… but I thought you had outgrown those things before we got married and were just playing on your old skills!" Lynn's voice filled with confusion.

"I didn't 'outgrow' them until I outgrew my third maternity dress," Rita shook her head. "Up until that point, gaming was a major part of my life!"

Lisa then stepped forward, adjusting her glasses as she did so. "This is an interesting paradigm you have brought up, mother and father, but I still seem to be missing one important detail."

"What would that be, sweetie?" Rita squatted down to the four-year-old's height.

The young scientist rubbed her chin and looked towards her mother. "If our father tried to impress you with videogames and you had to spend countless hours training, why have you always told us that you met him as a crossing guard?"

"Simple really, I worked as a crossing guard part-time," she chuckled. "After all, even though I worked a lot and brought home huge cash prizes, due to the very nature of my profession, it was never a good idea to one: constantly stay indoors to play, and two: rely on that as my only source of income," she stood up straight. "And so, the off-season I decided to act as a crossing guard just so happened to be the year your father got back from his time abroad and well, as they say, the rest is history."

"That's all well and good but what does this have to do with me entering the tournament?" Lincoln spoke up, holding up the flyer as he did so. "I mean… you just spent the last twenty minutes telling us about how you were so great! Do you think I'll be able to get that far?"

The woman took the chance to turn towards her husband, the man watching her with a gaze of uncertainty while she silently begged him to answer. And so, he sighed. "Now son, I know you really wanna take a shot at that grand prize, but you heard your mother. She was a champion level gamer and even she didn't think it was a sustainable career to start a family on. I think it would be better if you just kept to your schoolwork and maybe find something else you're good at. You know, your own calling in life."

Lincoln's eyes fell downcast with that, disappointment filling his body.

"Now how about we head downstairs? I'm sure you all have stuff you wanna get back to," the man placed his hand on his son's back, before leading him and the rest of his children out of the attic, leaving Rita standing alone, her old trophy still held in her hands.

Slowly, she found herself raising the award, allowing her to get better look at its bronze words. For a moment, she imagined reading Lincoln's name on the plaque, how much pride she would feel if he was able to succeed, before she found herself asking. _"Now that I think of it… what is Lincoln's calling in life?"_ Her mind lingered on the question. _"I was champion for a long time, before I decided to retire and raise our family. Back when I still played, I saved up so much money from my victories that every single one of my children has a college fund completely paid for. And this home, while falling into a state of disrepair now, had once been really nice- I could look to our neighbor's homes for proof of that…"_ slowly, she returned the award to its old case and began making her way down the stairs. _"If even one of my children could make a living like that and not breed like rabbits… then I'm sure they would be able to live a comfortable life of luxury… if not, at least comfortable for their family…"_

She slowly found herself standing in the second-floor hallway, her eyes following her numerous children; their soft laughs filling the place with their typical chaos. _"Their happiness is all I could ever hope for,"_ she smiled. _"Heck, nowadays, pro-gamers are seen as celebrities! I've heard how reporters talk about those guys in Thailand and Japan, they're basically celebrities!"_

Carefully, the woman stepped forward, towards the room at the end of the hall. _"Lynn was right mentioning how Lincoln hasn't found something he's really good at like the girls, but… maybe this is what he's good at. For years we've been thinking he'd be good at art or writing or something. After all, he did win that comic book contest a few months back!"_ Rita reached her arm out to grab and turn the knob. _"But… he didn't seem to love that with all his heart… Maybe his future isn't along a beaten path, but lies in a less obvious place,"_ and with that, she steeled her nerves and pushed the door. _"There's only one way to find out."_

"Lincoln, are you in here?" She whispered.

"What is it?" The boy responded, disappointment filling his voice.

"I've been thinking," she replied with a soft, motherly tone. "How badly do you wanna go to this tournament?"

"I don't know why but… I really wanna go. I found out today and it's been the only thing I've been able to think about!" Lincoln's voice filled with a desperate sincerity, while he turned to look her in the eyes. "It's almost like… I'm being called to join it…"

" _Just like I was all those years ago…"_ she hesitated for a moment, uncertainty filling her veins. "How about this then, I'll let you go play under one condition…" she spoke with a commanding tone, seemingly trying to urge Lincoln against her.

"R-really?!" The boy's eyes went wide in surprise. "I'll do anything to go! Just name it!"

"You have to beat me in a match," she offered her hand. "Nothing special, just a normal match in the game the tournament is based on.

"Uhh mom, are you sure this is a good idea?" Lori stuck her head in the hallway, surprise filling her voice.

The woman glanced back at her eldest daughter and nodded. "Of course I am, dear," before she returned to her son. "My question is, do you accept these terms?"

Without hesitation, he nodded, before grabbing his mother's hand and shaking it "Y-yeah! I'll play you…" only for his eyes to go wide in the realization. "Wait… since when have you played League Of Heroes?"

"That's the name of the game huh? Sounds a bit familiar," she stood up straight and helped her son to his feet. "What type of game is it?"

"It's a fighting game where you have three battlers to work with- a warrior, a mage and a ninja. And each has unique abilities to use in combat," Lincoln quickly explained. "You have to defeat all of your opponent's heroes to win."

"All right then, let's go downstairs and set it," she motioned for him to follow and he wordlessly complied, with his sisters following suit.

And soon enough, Rita and Lincoln both sat in front of the TV, the game inserted into console and the controllers in hand, ready for the task at hand.

" _This is gonna be easy!"_ Lincoln leaned forward in anticipation. _"I've been playing this game for a long time and I'm sure mom knows it!"_ His eyes followed the counter as it quickly made its way to zero. _"I'm gonna beat mom and-"_

Yet, before he could even hit the controls to fight, Rita sent her character- a winged woman in golden armor- straight into Lincoln's, causing him fly off the edge of the arena and his first character- a marked man wearing strange, golden armor- to fall to his doom.

"Player one, hero defeated!" Almost as soon as that appeared, Lincoln's second character stepped forward- a man dressed in a strange set of magical robes and wielding a magical staff.

"What the?!" Lincoln's eyes go wide in shock.

"You have to pay attention!" Rita shouted, before she commanded her character to jump over Lincoln's and uppercut him, dealing a quarter of his health in damage. "You'll never be able to compete if you don't!"

" _I have to fight back!"_ The boy frantically thought, before mashing the buttons on his controller "Ability activate! Magical Meltdown!" And immediately after, Lincoln's mage engulfed himself in fire, before launching a barrage of red orbs at Rita's warrior… And all the woman did in response was dodge and tackle Lincoln's character once more, forcing him out of the arena; much to her son's frustration.

" _Dangit… this isn't going well for me! Mom's destroying me!"_ Lincoln frantically thought as his final character appeared on screen. In desperation, he shouted. "Go rank-up evolution!" Yet, much to his dismay, Rita simply repeated what she had done, cancelling out the ability and continuing the onslaught, until only her character was left standing, with Lincoln's team entirely wiped out.

And for a moment after that, the living room remained silent, the Loud children unsure of just how to respond.

"Wow mom, you wrecked him!" Lynn's voice filled with disbelief.

"I thought you were great at this game, Linky!" Leni's mouth fell agape in surprise.

Lola, meanwhile, fell to the floor and laughed at the sight. "Haha! Mom's better at videogames than you, Lincoln!"

"Well that was an interesting sight," Lisa pulled out a small notebook and began to record her observations. "It seems our male sibling is unable to stand up to our mother in terms of skill. She seems to have perfected the fine motor skills and coordination required for this game while you… have not."

Despite this all however, Lincoln didn't respond, his gaze unmoving from the defeated sign hanging over his screen. _"I… I'm not going to the tournament," p_ ain began to fill the young boy's body, before his eyes fall downcast in shame.

" _If you wanna see what a man can really do, beat him to the ground and give him a reason to get back up,"_ Rita stood up straight and stretched for a moment, before adjusting her blouse. "You know Lincoln, you still have a chance to beat me."

Immediately, the young boy perked up, his eyes wide in shock. "R-really mom? B-but you pounded me into the ground!"

"I said we were playing a match. Which means that this is a best two out of three," she smiled at him. "If you can beat me two more times, I'll let you go."

"But… what's the point? You destroyed me three-O!" Lincoln's voice filled with despair, as he looked away.

"Now Lincoln, I've played enough games over the years to be able to pick up the controls near-instantly, but I don't know the little details of this game," She gave him a determined gaze. "I'm sure you can beat me twice in row. Try again, won't you? And this time, give me everything you've got!"

Lincoln could feel a soft, motherly heat overtake him, almost as if she secretly wanted him to win against her. Suddenly, he could feel adrenaline begin to flood his veins while he clutched his fists. _"I can win right? I can win!"_ He nodded. "All right," before he turned back to the screen and readied himself for the second round.

Immediately after that, Lincoln tightened his body, while he did his best to move his fingers as quickly as he could against the controls. _"I have to catch up to her! She works fast, well then so can I!"_

"Wow… this looks like quite the racing game doesn't it?!" Luan punned, yet, while Rita would normally laugh, she remained silent, her gaze focused solely on the task at hand: beating her son in the game of his choice. "Man, I guess this crowd just wants to **play games** with me!"

"Ugh," the family groaned in response.

" _I have to win! I have to win!"_ Lincoln mentally repeated, pain beginning to fill his thumbs as he did so. _"I will win! I will answer the call!"_

"You're not gonna beat me or anyone if you don't calm down and focus on the game at hand. You're hitting those controls so hard that I can hear your tapping from here," Rita averted her gaze. "Hitting the buttons harder doesn't make the console sense them any faster."

" _S-she's right…"_ Lincoln took a short moment to take a deep breath, before immediately returning to the game.

For the next few minutes after that, Lincoln and Rita fought hard, though eventually, Lincoln was able to get the upper hand on his mother in the second game, using the very trick she had used to defeat him.

In the third game, Rita countered Lincoln's assaults and took out the first two fighters he wielded, but Lincoln was able to fight back and managed to win with just a sliver of his HP remaining.

And when they were done, Lincoln and Rita dropped the controllers, with the woman beaming with pride. "Good job, Lincoln. You win the match."

"Does this mean I can go to the tournament on Saturday?!" Lincoln's eyes lit up in joy.

"You got it," she stood up, "and since you seem to have a lot of potential, I'm gonna do you a favor Lincoln…" the woman ran her hand through her son's hair. "I'm gonna train you for it."

Suddenly, Lincoln's eyes go wide, "R-really?!"

The woman nodded. "Yeah, and when we go to the tournament, I'll be acting as your coach."

"Really mom?! This is gonna be amazing!" Lincoln's voice filled with joy, before he threw his hands around the woman. "Thank you mom!"

"Heh, no problem," she stood up straight and turned towards her daughters. "We're gonna have to prepare, wanna help your brother win his first tournament?"

The girls looked among themselves and smiled, before rushing upstairs to get ready. Rita and Lincoln followed soon after, leaving Lynn Sr. alone in the living room.

" _This isn't gonna end well…"_

18-9-20-1 12-15-21-4 9-19 1 10-1-3-11 15-6 1-12-12 20-18-1-4-5-19 9-19-14-'20 19-8-5?!

 **A/N Looks like I'm back in the saddle and nothing's changed a bit. Heh I hope you guys enjoyed! As always, I'm gonna update once a week and time on Saturdays! I thank Sesquipedalian Numeral for looking this over and my friends on the TLH Discord for giving my advice and encouragement!**

 **As always, feel free to PM me or join the TLH discord if you'd like to talk!**


	2. The Old Stomping Ground

**A/N Hey guys! As per the norm I'm back right on schedule! Well... a few hours early since I'm on vacation and I don't know when I'm gonna get another chance to do this. I hope you guys enjoyed though from the reviews it looks like you did! Anyways, here's chapter 2!**

 **As always, R &R!**

Chapter Two: The Old Stomping Ground

"I can't believe it!" Rita eagerly looked back at her children. "My son really wants to follow in my footsteps!"

"Y-yeah," Lincoln nervously replied. "I just can't wait to start, mom!"

The woman covered her mouth and giggled a bit. "Don't worry Lincoln, there's nothing to be afraid of. The owner's a really nice man and I'm sure you and him will get along nicely."

" _I hope so,"_ the boy took a deep breath with that… only for his sisters to speak up.

Lynn playfully punched his arm. "I can't wait to see what my little bro can do."

Lincoln pulled away and rubbed the spot in response. "Don't you already know that? I mean you always make me help you practice and stuff…" he couldn't help, but blush at the idea. _"I wonder if mom's gonna run circles around me like Lynn does…"_

"Course bro," she turned him to face her. "But this is gonna be the first time I'm gonna see you doing something you actually like."

"Plus, it's the first time you're gonna be practicing and we all wanna see, Linky!" Leni ran her hand through her little brother's soft, white hair. "I'm like, totally excited!"

"I just wanna see how mom used to train," Lori tapped away on her phone. "I might be able to learn something for next season."

"I heard that people love messing with the games!" Lana excitedly cut in, her eyes wandering up in thought while she rubbed her chin. "I wonder if I'm gonna find any boogers or bugs crawling around them!"

"Eww! Lana!" Lola winced and recoiled in disgust. "I don't get how you're able to deal with all that stuff!"

"A girl's gotta know when to get her hands dirty, sis," the young plumber pulled out a wrench and began to swing it. "I spent last night learning basic electrical engineering, so if one of the machines breaks down, I'll be able to fix it!"

Luna leaned back in her seat and smiled. "That sounds awesome little sis," she plucked her guitar's strings carefully, using the skill she had perfected over years of practice to make sure that the instrument was in tune. "Last night, I worked on some rockin' music so you guys are gonna have a fun time working out," she leaned over to her little brother. "You excited, Linc?"

" _Just stay calm, Lincoln… just stay calm. It's your first day working with your gaming legend mom. Everything's gonna be fine, right? You can do this! Nothing bad can happen!"_ Instead of answering his sister, Lincoln continued to stare at the floor, his mind wandering to the many possibilities that awaited him.

A soft, concerned gaze overtook Lori with that. "Lincoln?" She placed her hand on his shoulder and shook him back to reality. "You there, Linc?"

"Huh?" He darted his head towards his sister. "W-what?"

"You spaced out, bro," Luna spoke with a concerned voice. "Everything all right?"

"Y-yeah…" The boy turned and gazed out the window. "J-just a bit… very nervous is all… it's the first time I'm training and stuff…"

"Heh, it's only your first session fears coming up," Rita cut in with a nonchalant voice.

Immediately, Lincoln tilted his head in confusion. "My first session fears?"

"Yep," the woman leaned over to look at her son. "Since it's the first time you're gonna be doing something like this, you're scared about what's gonna happen," she couldn't help, but chuckle at the idea. "Don't worry though, I'm sure you're gonna do fine. And if you need help, we're all here for you.""

" _I hope so…"_ the boy shivered, before taking a deep breath. _"I wanna make you proud, mom…"_

"It seems you are suffering from an acute case of hypothermia," Lisa leaned in close to her brother, rubbing her chin and adjusting her glasses as she did so. "Are you sure that T-shirt is enough to keep you adequately heated while we practice?"

"Uhh… yeah?" Lincoln tilted his head in the other direction.

The young girl nodded, before pulling out a small notebook and writing.

"Uhh honey, are you sure this is a good idea?" Finally, Lynn Sr. spoke up, concern filling his voice. "No offense, but you all seem to be taking this a bit too much in stride, ya know?"

" _Because unlike our other kids, Lincoln hasn't found the thing that speaks to him,"_ Rita immediately thought. _"Maybe, just maybe this is what he needs to do,"_ she mentally sighed. _"And worse comes to worst, he'll decide that he doesn't wanna do this and will try to find something else,"_ And so, the woman shook her head, before answering. "Now dear, you know that sometimes you've gotta take a chance with something new. How else are you gonna find out if it's worth doing?"

The man glanced at his wife, before shaking his head and looking back at the road. "I guess you're right… where are we supposed to turn?"

"Next exit," she answered, a soft smile overtaking her expression as she did so. Slowly, she found herself gazing out the window as well, her mind wandering to those days of old when she had first started to compete. _"Man, that was the time of my life…"_ she glanced at her only son. _"I just hope that Lincoln's truly serious this, or else it'll just be a waste of time."_

"All right everyone, it looks like we're here," Lynn Sr. declared, his voice cracking ever so slightly. "Uhh… Litwak's Family Fun Center?"

Rita smiled. "Yep, you've got it! We're here!" She leaned forward in her chair, her eyes lighting up in joy. Without hesitation, she pointed at a small building ahead. "That's the arcade! Park and we'll be able to go inside."

"Ok honey, ok," Lynn Sr. spoke with a down cast voice, though his family didn't seem to notice. And with one quick motion, he moved Vanzilla into one of the small parking spaces and pulled the key from the ignition.

"Time to go, kids," Rita quickly opened her door and hopped out, taking the chance to stretch as she did so. "Ahh, this place smells just like the last time I was here!"

Immediately after that, her children and husband hopped out of the vehicle as well.

"Uhh, mom, where are we?" Lori tilted her head at the woman. "I mean, we were on the road for an hour."

Instead of answering her daughter's question, Rita simply turned and motioned towards a nearby building. "Welcome to the place that started my gaming career! Litwak's Arcade!"

" _Mom really brought us to the place that she started, just to train me?"_ Lincoln's eyes went wide in shock. _"She really wants to help me win this tournament, huh?"_ He couldn't help, but watch in awe as his mother began to approach the building.

"I wonder if anything's changed," she chuckled, before motioning for her children to follow. "Come on, I'm sure Litwak's gonna be excited to meet you all."

And Lynn Jr. decided to send her elbow into her brother's arm. "You lead the way, bro."

The boy flinched in surprise. "W-what?"

"You lead the way," the young woman commanded. "Since this is your training and stuff, you're gotta show us what you wanna do!"

"A-are you guys sure? I mean-" he rubbed the back of his head. "I don't…"

"Link, we all did this when we first introduced everyone to our hobbies," Luna spoke with a reassuring tone. "It's nothing really. Just lead the way and we'll follow."

He gulped, his body freezing up in fear. _"I-I can't do this. What if I fail? What if mom tries to train me, but I can't learn?! I don't wanna break her heart! She seems so excited to see me play!"_

"Come on Lincoln, you've gotta jump the first threshold!" Rita declared, "You're not gonna be able to compete if you don't practice! Now come on, do you wanna compete? Do you wanna answer the call?!"

" _Answer the call…"_ Lincoln could feel a strange sensation building in the pit of his stomach, urging him to go along with what would happen next. And so, he steeled his nerves. "All right." before walking over to his mother and taking a step inside the building.

And as soon as he walked through the door, his nose was bombarded by the strange scents of old shag carpeting and snacks, while he saw hundreds of seemingly random games strewn about a single large room. The walls were decorated with an assortment of retro lines and stained by the random oils and liquids patrons had accidently spilled. Yet, despite the apparent age of the structure, plenty of the games seemed new. No doubt this was one of the few arcades in existence that wasn't on its last legs.

"Wow!" Lincoln's eyes went wide in surprise. "I've never seen one this big before!"

Rita ran her hand through her son's short, white hair. "Heh, now you see why I started here, right?" She took the chance to look around a bit, allowing her countless memories of the place to fill her mind. "Back in my day, this place had so many games that it would've been criminal not to get your hands dirty by playing on each and every one."

"Had?" Lisa raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Are you implying that there were more games present?"

The woman nodded. "Yes I am. Over the years, some games started getting put out of service and replaced. And since arcades aren't really all that popular anymore, I'm pretty sure Litwak had to downsize a bit," she looked at her family. "Luckily for us, I'm sure that won't have to-"

"Rita! Is that you?!" An old man dressed in a referee shirt and black pants stepped over to the group, his face locked in a state of disbelief as he did so. He had soft, white hair and wrinkled, light skin; no doubt the years were not kind to him. After a moment, he smiled and offered his hand to her. "You look like you haven't aged a day!"

"Litwak? Is that really you?" Rita took the man's hand in her own, allowing him to place a soft kiss upon it.

"In the flesh," the man let go and gave a hearty laugh. "It's been a long time since I've seen you 'round here. How've things been? I know you called earlier, but with all the prank calls I get, I assumed it was just another!"

"Some things just never change, do they, Litwak?" Rita chuckled.

The man shook his head in response. "No, no they don't," he laughed as well. "Before I bring you to the ol' stompin' ground, mind introducin' the people you brought with ya? It looks like you've got a whole fan club here!"

"Of course, of course," the woman nodded and grabbed her partner. "Well then, I guess I'll start by introducing my husband, you remember him, don't ya?"

"Ol' Lynn? Course I remember him," the old man laughed. "I remember him trying to play you in a game of pack-rat and you winning, rather decisively too."

"H-hey! I wasn't a fan of videogames!" The man's face went red in embarrassment.

Yet, much to his relief, Rita kissed his cheek. "Don't worry Lynn, I didn't mind you were bad at videogames. Beat me or not, I loved you all the same!" Before she let go of him and motioned towards the eleven children standing behind her. "And these are my kids!"

"My, my, Rita! It looks like you've been busy! Why, the last time you came here I remember…" slowly, his gaze falls upon her three oldest children. "Lori was just barely able to walk, Leni and Luna were still in strollers and you were pregnant with your forth child!"

The woman nodded. "Yeah, I have eleven kids now," Her gaze moved over to her son, and she rubbed his head. "And now my son, Lincoln, is planning on entering a tourney next week!"

"Oh?" The man averts his gaze to the boy, taking the chance to squat down in front of him as he did so. "My, my, what an honor," he smiled at him, "Your mother is pretty famous 'round these parts."

"I-I heard." Lincoln meekly replied, tapping his fingers as he did so.

"Oh? Like, what'd she do?" Leni tilted her head.

The man stood up straight. "Well, for one, if it wasn't for her telling everyone that she got her start here, I probably would've closed down years ago!" He couldn't help, but give Rita a thankful smile. "Another time, she held a simultaneous exhibition here and completely destroyed ten professional gamers in their best games!"

"Wow!" Lana's eyes went wide in surprise. "You're amazing mom!"

The woman's cheeks went red while she covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Haha, no, no Litwak, that wasn't that impressive! A lot of pros do that!" She looked him in the eyes. "And besides, I did it because you said you needed some funds to keep the place open, it was the least I could do!"

Litwak smiled and nodded. "Thank you again, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

"What else did mom do?!" Lynn jumped out from the crowd of children.

The man chuckled at her excitement. "Well, one time she managed to teach herself how to play a game in five minutes and then managed to beat the world champion at it!" He threw his head back in laughter. "That was the day she earned the title, 'The Hunter of Fairyland'."

"Now Litwak, don't exaggerate," she raised her finger to the man, jokingly scolding him. "I only beat the regional champion that day. I drew my game against the world champion, and it was only by a small margin."

"Wow!" Lynn Jr.'s eyes went wide in surprise. "You were able to keep up with a world champion?!"

"Keep up? That's funny!" She gave a hearty laugh. "He was trying to keep up with me! He was barely able to draw the game because I didn't know about a glitch in the system that gave him the edge he needed."

Lynn playfully nudged her brother. "Man bro, you've got a lot to live up to."

" _Yeah…"_ Lincoln thought, a shiver running through his body. _"I do…"_ only for a thought to cut across his mind. _"You'll never be as good as your mother! Give up and don't waste anyone's time!"_ He quickly shook his head. "So, uhh, mom… what are we gonna do here?"

"Yeah…" Lynn Sr. spoke up; the man took a few looks at the machines, though he seemed to not know what the games on each of them were. "You asked us to come here to train, but I don't see a training room."

Immediately, the woman turned to the arcade's elderly owner. "Litwak, do you still have the ol' stompin' ground set up?"

The man nodded. "Of course, Rita! Ever since you retired, people have been paying top dollar to use it!" He turned and began walking, motioning for the family to follow as he did so. "Luckily, no one else wanted to use it today, so it was free."

And soon enough, the man stopped in front of a small, wooden door and turned the knob, revealing a small, gym-like room filled with random equipment.

"Wow! This place looks like just the way I left it!" Rita's voice filled with awe.

Litwak gave her a prideful smile, before leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms. "I made sure of that. If someone used the place, I had them agree to put everything right where they found them."

"How much do you want for me to use this place?" Rita quickly asked. "And do you still have the big system?"

"For you, no charge," he chuckled, "Remember, if it wasn't for you, this arcade wouldn't be open! It's the least I could do for you and your son!" He rubbed his chin. "As for the big system, I still have it, it's in my office. Feel free to send for it as soon as you're ready to use it."

Lincoln tilted his head. "Uhh… the big system?"

"You'll see when we use it." Rita hastily replied.

"O-ok…" Lincoln rubbed the back of his head. "So… uhh… where do we start, mom?"

The woman thought for a moment, before taking a deep breath a squatting down to his height. "First, I wanna make sure that you're sure about this. Gaming is serious business, Lincoln," she looked into his eyes. "That means that training for it isn't gonna be easy."

The boy hesitated. "I know…" Though, he couldn't help, but think. _"What? You think that if your mother trains you, you're gonna be able to get as far she did? What a joke! Go waste your time!"_ He looked into her eyes and shrugged the thought off. "But, I wanna answer the call, and I know that the only way to do that is to train…. I trust you mom," his voice went low with that last part, before he laughed trying to break the serious mood with a joking tone. "Besides, since you're a gaming master, I'm sure I will be too!"

"All right, Lincoln, all right… if you're sure about this." She stood up straight and reached into her purse, cracking a soft smile. "And be careful with the arrogance. That might cost you a game."

"Oh… ok." He tilted his head. "So, uhh… what's first?"

"First, I need you to get into these," she pulled out a white tank top and a set of orange shorts.

"Uhh what?" He took the garments in his hands.

Rita looked at her daughters. "Set up the stations like I told you last night."

The girls nodded, before rushing passed the duo and into the room, leaving the mother and son alone at its entrance.

"Lincoln, training for videogames is harder than most expect," she looked ooked into his eyes with a sincere gaze. "If you're gonna stand a chance at that tournament, we're gonna have to push you passed your limits."

A shiver rushed up the boy's spine. "B-but I know videogames already! H-how bad can it be?"

The woman cracked a smile and stood up straight. "Oh Lincoln, you don't know anything yet," she ruffled his hair. "I am going to **break** you."

Lincoln gulped, "Uhh what?"

"Come on." The woman turned around and stepped into the room as well, leaving Lincoln alone at the door.

" _This isn't gonna end well…"_ Quickly, he looked around, making sure that the coast was clear, before he swapped out his orange polo and blue jeans for the gym clothes his mother had provided. _"You're making a mistake! She sounded like she really planned to break you!"_ The boy shook his head and purged the thought from his mind. "I don't need to worry, I don't need to worry. I'm gonna get through this and I'm gonna win the tournament!"

"Lincoln! Ya comin' bro?" Lori called out. "We're literally waiting for you!"

"Coming!" He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. _"Don't worry Lincoln, everything's gonna be fine, everything's gonna be fine!"_ And with that, he stepped into the room and took in the scene.

Now, all ten of his sisters stood on separate mats, each equipped with the various objects and tools required to train. Lola and Lynn shared a station, as did Lily and Lana and Lori and Leni. Luna leaned back against the back wall and Luan and Lucy were nowhere to be found. _"Here we go,"_ and with that thought, he approached his mother.

"All right then Lincoln," she took his clothes and shoved them into her handbag. "Are you ready to start?"

" _There's no turning back now,"_ he nodded. "Yeah mom, how do you wanna start?"

Quickly, she turned to her third-oldest daughter. "Luna, some training montage music please."

The young woman nodded. "You got it mom!" before she began to strum, prompting Rita to grab her son and pull him over to the first station.

…

 _ **Try to be best 'cause you're only a man and a man's got to learn to take it.**_

 _ **Try to believe though the going gets rough that you got to hang tough to make it.**_

 _ **History repeats itself, try and you'll succeed!**_

 _ **Never doubt that you're the one and you can have your dreams!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

…

"All right, Lincoln, this is the first thing we're gonna do," Rita grabbed one of the dodgeballs from the rack, before tossing it in the air to make sure that it was properly inflated. "We're gonna work on your hand-eye coordination."

"O-ok, that works," Lincoln gulped. "H-how are we gonna do that?"

Immediately, his mother grabbed an orange ball while putting the first back. "Simple, I'm gonna have Lola and Lynn here throw dodgeballs at you," she glanced at her young daughters, the duo grabbing red dodgeballs off the same rack as she did so. "And you can't dodge them."

"W-what?!" Lincoln's eyes went wide in shock. _"T-this isn't looking good already!"_ he gulped. "So, uhh… how am I supposed to not get hit?"

She passed him the orange dodgeball. "Simple really, all you have to do is watch how Lynn and Lola here throw and deflect every shot," she stepped aside. "Remember Lincoln, when you're playing a game, you need to have your eyes able to react to any input that you get. This is a simple way of getting that done."

"A-all right." Fear began to flood his veins. _"I have made a huge mistake."_

"Ready or not Lincoln, here I come!" Lynn shouted as she raised her dodgeball. Next to her Lola did the same, albeit without a snarky comment.

"And, fire!" Rita commanded, prompting her two daughters to launch their first attack at the young boy.

And all he could do in response is hold up the ball and close his eyes, hoping that it would be enough to stop the assault… only for a bucket to fall on top of his head. "What the?!" Immediately after that, two dodgeballs hit his chest, causing him to double over in pain. "Ugh, what was that?!"

"Here, let me help you up, Lincoln," Lucy appeared next to him, after that, causing the boy to jump to his feet in surprise, as well as force the bucket off his head, allowing both Lucy and Luan to come into view.

"Haha! It looks like you're wet today, Lincoln!" Luan threw her head back in laughter.

Immediately, Lincoln turned to Rita in surprise. "W-what was that?!"

"You have to be prepared for anything Lincoln," his mother spoke with a concerned voice. "You could be gaming in competition when something falls on top of you. You can't excuse a loss on a distraction, especially if you're having a tough time. So I decided to have Luan going around setting up pranks and Lucy using her ability to sneak around to startle you whenever she sees fit."

" _You should just give up! Your mom probably thinks that you can make it!"_ Lincoln took a breath and nodded. "A-all right, I think I can handle it." He grabbed the dodgeball off the floor once more and readied himself. "L-lets go!"

Rita nodded with that. "Very well, Lola, Lynn, ready!"

The duo grabbed two more dodgeballs and nodded.

"I'm ready mommy!" Lola declared, her gaze focusing on her brother.

Lynn simply nodded in reply. "Same here, mom."

And with that, the woman pointed at Lincoln. "Send the second volley!"

" _Here goes!"_ Lincoln raised the dodgeball once more, hoping that he would be able to block the attack.

…

 _ **Fight till the end cause your life will depend on the strength that you have inside you.**_

 _ **Ah you gotta be proud, standing out in the cloud when the odds in the game defy you.**_

 _ **Try your best to win them all and one day time will tell.**_

 _ **When you're the one that's standing there, you'll reach the final bell!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

…

" _Come on! Why is this so difficult?!"_ Lincoln pressed his thumbs against the glue-covered controller, doing his best to force the buttons down and move the joysticks, but to no avail. "Dangit!"

For the next few moments, he tried to get the device to budge- to give him the little leeway he needed to get a move on with the second part of his training. And yet, the controller refused to yield- to allow him to make it his servant.

"Come on Lincoln! You've gotta to show that controller who's boss!" Rita urged, clapping as she did so. "When you're playing in a tournament, the organizers might provide the equipment you will be using since they wish to eliminate cheating."

The boy looked up at his mother with a concerned gaze. "R-really?"

His mother nodded in response. "Yeah, one time I had to break in a whole new set of controllers five minutes before I was due to play in the final round of a big tournament," she wiped the sweat from her brow. "It was one of the worst experiences I ever had while playing competitively.

Lincoln took another breath. "All right I guess… are we gonna try this test again?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. Lisa! Are you ready for the next trial?"

The young scientist hopped to her feet. "Affirmative." She held up a small clock and computer. "My equipment is ready as well."

"All right then, Lincoln," she turned back to her son. "I need you to mash those buttons until they're loose and you only have five minutes at most to do so, understood?"

" _This is gonna suck, isn't it?"_ Lincoln nodded, unsure of what else to do to answer. "Yeah mom, I get it."

"Good." Rita turned to her second-youngest daughter. "On your mark, get set, button mash!" And with that, Lisa started the clock, prompting Lincoln to slam his fingers against the sticky buttons once more, yet they still wouldn't budge!

"Come on Lincoln! You can do it!" Rita assures, her voice filling with hope. "I've seen you break through entire crowds before! You can do it!"

Adrenaline flooded Lincoln's veins, urging his body to complete the task at hand, despite the shooting pain filling his fingers and thumbs. Then, before he knew it, he felt the joystick slip, moving ever so slightly, while the trigger buttons gave a soft *snap* signaling that they too had managed to loosen up enough to register. _"I… I did it!"_

"And time!" Rita declared, turning towards her daughter as she did so. "Lisa, how are the controls faring?"

"Hmm, according to the computer, Lincoln was able to move the joysticks and unlocked the triggers, however, the majority of the controller isn't ready for use at the moment."

"That's all right," Rita ran her hand through her son's soft, white hair, and smiled at him. "Good job Lincoln, most people give up because of just how difficult it is. We're gonna have to work on it more though."

" _I… I did it! My mom's proud of me!"_ Joy began to fill Lincoln's body, though a thought couldn't help but pop up as well. _"Yeah, you're still gonna disappoint her in everything else. Heck! Here, she seems annoyed that you weren't able to do anything else!"_ His gaze softened. "All right, all right… Hey mom, can I go to the bathroom?"

The woman nodded, knowing very well that this was just an excuse to take a break from practice. "Sure son, take as long as you need… but not too long, we have to get through a lot of practice in the next few days."

Lincoln nodded. "No problem, mom." Before he attempted to drop the controller from his hand… only to find his hands stuck to its handles. "W-what the?!"

"Sigh, Luan left some glue on the rest of the controller," Lucy suddenly appeared, causing Lincoln to jump up in surprise.

"Dangit Luan!" He quickly recomposed himself. "I'm gonna go get the solvent," before he walked out of the room. _"I will not let her prank me again!"_

* * *

 _ **Luna began to strum a guitar solo at this point, filling the room with her soft music.**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

* * *

"All right! This controller is your worst enemy Lincoln!" Lori spoke with a commanding tone. "I want you to teach it a lesson!"

Lincoln, now dressed in a karate Gi, punched one the oversized buttons on an equally oversized controller… only to immediately pull back in pain. "Ow! That's flippin' hard!"

"I know, you need to numb yourself out a bit while building up some muscle. When you're on a computer all day, it's pretty easy to let yourself go, ya know," Rita chuckled. "To be honest, this is one of the more simple training ideas I used over the years. How else to you think I was able to stay physically fit, even though I had three kids and was in front of screen a lot?"

"I just thought it was genetics," Leni tilted her head in curiosity.

Rita giggled. "No Leni, I had to work to get my body the way it was."

"I'm just wondering where you found this, mom," Lori stared at the oversized gaming console and controller for a moment. "I mean, who even has the time to make a giant… what system is this anyway?"

"It's a Sega Saturn." Rita held up the giant controller for her son, watching as he tried his best to punch the controls in a seemingly random order, though knowing that each set was a famous cheat code… only to reel his hand back after each hit. "A friend in Japan left this to me in his will."

" _This hurts so much, but I'm gonna do it, for her. I will not give up!"_ Lincoln shook his hand, doing his best to fight off the pain filling his hand, before looking at his mother, and tilting his head. "Uhh… what'd he do?"

"He used to run around Japan beating up people who didn't like the Sega Saturn," she nonchalantly responded, tapping the controller for emphasis. "This was his old training rig."

Silence overtook the quartet for a moment, before Lincoln tilted his head in curiosity. " _Uhh… now I wanna know how he died…"_ Lincoln paused for a moment, unsure if he should delve deeper, but finds his curiosity overtaking his fear. "What happened to him?"

Rita rubbed the back of her head, seemingly unsure of just how to explain it. "Well, umm… he died saving Sega's Japanese headquarters from a competitor's missile attack," she looked into her obviously exhausted son's eyes. "He used his videogame powers to defy the laws of physics and force the missile into orbit with him on it. Then, it exploded and he died."

Leni stared at her mother for a moment. "Like, I don't know what physics are, but like… if he defied them, shouldn't he have gone to jail?"

"Well, he did… blow up after all…" Rita rubbed the back of her head and looked away, seemingly embarrassed by having to explain this. "But he did commit felony assault too…"

"Wow, that is literally hard to believe, mom," Lori placed her hands on her hips.

Rita chuckled. "I know, but that's how it is," she shrugged, before refocusing her gaze to her son. "Now, I want you to put in the Konami code again! I wanna make sure you have that memorized in case an Easter Egg opportunity pops up! It's always fun to see an underdog decide to do something different in hopes of getting the upper hand!"

" _You can do this Lincoln, you can do it!"_ He took a deep breath with that, before sending his unprotected hands into the giant buttons once more… only for the button to send a jolt of electricity through his hand.

"G'ahh!" Lincoln pulled back while shaking his hand. "What the heck?!"

"Haha! What an electrifying performance!" Luan shouted, before throwing her head back in laughter.

"Here," Lucy suddenly appeared at the boy's side, holding up a small box of bandages. "These should help your hands out."

Lincoln didn't flinch as he turned to his sister." Thanks Lucy," he took them from her quickly and wrapped his injured hands with the sticky paper, before returning his gaze to the controller and punching once more. _"Never give up! No, give up, you'll never live up to your mother's name!"_

* * *

 _ **Fight till you drop. Never stop, can't give up.**_

 _ **Until you reach the top! (Fight!) You're the best in town! (Fight!)**_

 _ **Listen to that sound! A little bit of all you got can never bring you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

* * *

"All right Lana and Lily, you two know what to do!" Rita turned to her young children.

"You got it!" Lana declared, while both she and the infant child saluted.

Lincoln sat nearby, strapped to a chair while his eyes focused upon the screen in front of him. Displayed were a set of words. "Uhh mom, is this necessary?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. When you participate in a tournament, things are going to get extremely loud. So what better way to learn how to drown out noise than to have your sisters do something we're great at?!"

" _This isn't gonna end well for me…"_ he gulped. "I think I get it… so what am I supposed to do?"

"I need you to read the displayed words aloud," the woman answered, slapping her hands together as she did so. "Come on! You can do it!"

" _You can do it Lincoln. You can live up to your mother's name!"_ He nodded. "All right mom, let's go!"

Rita smiled and tapped her two children. "Begin!"

"Poo-poo!" Lily shouted, before forcing herself to cry, flailing her arms as she did so, meanwhile Lana decided to run up to her brother and start screaming into his ear… and hops decided to hop out and croak in the other.

"M-Mary had a little sheep! W-who's fur was w-whiter than snow!" Lincoln forced his eyes to focus on the screen ahead. "T-they have sent you a le-tter, t-to come back home to play!"

Suddenly, Lincoln could feel the room become quieter, as if the loud noises that followed his family were dying down. "Summer in the hills… those hazy days were too remember! Someday, we'll all be free! Stand together like we're rocks in the wall, growing stronger every day even more!"

For the next few minutes, he went on, spouting off seemingly random phrases, while the world around him remained silent… that was, until his mother placed her hand on his shoulder. "Lincoln."

"Huh?" Quickly, he snapped back to reality, allowing the noises to once more fill his ears. "G'ahh! What the?!"

Rita smiled, "You did it Lincoln, you tuned them out!"

"R-really?!" The boy's mouth fell open in surprise, before his eyes went wide and he forced his chair to the side, causing the bucket Luan planned to drop on him, to miss. "Haha! Close one," he shook his head, forcing the sweat off from his brow.

Luan pouted. "Dangit!"

* * *

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

 _ **You're the best! Around!**_

 _ **Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!**_

* * *

Luna panted after she sung that phrase for the nth time, her arms barely clutching her guitar at this point. "Mom! Can I stop?"

Rita shook her head in response. "I'm sorry Luna, but we can't train without music ya know!"

"But can't you use your phone?" She responded with a weary voice. "Please! My arms feel like they're gonna fall off!"

Yet, her mother simply shook her head. "I'll be honest, I'd use the boombox, but your father broke it while breakdancing last week."

"Speaking of dad, where is he anyway?" Lincoln looked up at his mother in curiosity.

Rita shrugged. "I'm sure he's looking around the arcade or went out to shop for ingredients. I told him we would be here all day anyways, so he knows."

"Oh… and using your phone?" The young woman tilted her head in curiosity and exhaustion.

"It's just not the same," Rita looked into her daughter's eyes. "I'll buy you Mick Swagger's underwear if you keep going."

Luna's eyes immediately went wide in surprise, before she smiled, adrenaline flooding her veins once more. "You got it mom!" And with that, she went back to strumming and singing, filling the training room with her music once more.

* * *

Finally, Lincoln sat in the middle of the stomping ground, his back leaning weakly against one of the chairs Litwak had decided to leave in their for the occupant's use.

"So how are you feeling, son?" Rita stood in front of the young boy, her unwavering gaze falling upon him.

"I'm exhausted… but I don't mind if this helps me out…" Lincoln spoke with a weary voice. _"At the rate I'm going, I might even be able to catch up to you one day, right? Maybe not…"_ he looked up at his mother. "But… shouldn't my training for a videogame tourney involve me, ya know, actually playing videogames?"

"Of course sweetie," the woman chuckled. "I just wanted to make sure you were nice and warmed up before you started."

"W-warmed up?!" The boy did his best to stop his voice from cracking.

"Yep," she harshened her gaze. "Now it's time for the true test, the real training.

And all Lincoln can do in response is gulp in fear.

Moments after that, Lincoln sat in front of a small gaming set up, perfect for practicing on and for getting the feel of the game.

"All right, back straight! Eyes forward, you have to focus on winning!" Rita commanded, before turning towards a nearby computer; on it, Clyde and Ronnie Anne stand by on video chat. "Are you two ready to help out Lincoln?"

Ronnie Anne nodded. "You got it, Mrs. Loud," she tapped away at her computer. "I'm already logged in."

"Same here," Clyde continued. "What about Lincoln?"

Lincoln focused his gaze on the screen in front of him, eager to prove that he would be ready to participate in the tournament. "Yeah, I'm ready." While he thought. _"I will succeed. I can't let anyone down! I know they believe in me!"_

Rita nodded and looked back to the duo. "Thanks for helping him practice, you two. I'd play him myself, but I'm not an expert at this game."

Clyde waved her off. "No problem Mrs. Loud. It's sad I won't be able to be there for Lincoln, but I'd really enjoy helping him train!"

"And I got nothing better to do today…" Ronnie Anne shrugged and looked away, giving a slight blush as she did so, before returning her gaze to the boy. "But he's so not gonna beat me!"

"I'd like to see you keep beating him, loss builds character," Rita smiled, before turning back to her son. "The rest of your friends should be coming by later, so we're gonna have a full rotation of opponents for you to challenge, all right, Lincoln?"

"A-all right mom!" He quickly replied, taking the chance to close his eyes before he would be forced to strain them in order to keep his focus on the game.

"Begin!" She commanded.

And for the next several hours, Lincoln sat at the console, playing each of his friends on rotation while his mother watched, making sure that he would keep forcing himself to keep going despite the difficulty of the task at hand.

"Keep you back straight!" She ordered. "You have to show that you can keep going even as exhaustion takes you!" She comes in close to the boy. "Keep those eyes open, you won't have a chance to break between rounds so you have build up your stamina! Remember, a game is as much a psychological battle as much as it's a physical one!"

"Uhh, mother, are you sure this is a good idea?" Lisa spoke with concern in her voice, "I mean, you are forcing your son to go over the limits his body has been built to handle…"

" _Don't give up, Lincoln. You got everyone to come together to help you out! You can't let them down!"_ He repeated in his mind, adrenaline being the only thing keeping him conscious at this point.

"When I was his age, I forgot what sleep was while I practiced," the woman took a breath before answering and looking back at the boy. "You've only got a week to prepare! You have to work harder than ever! Remember, videogame tournaments aren't all fun and games!"

"Really?! So is it like a video contest?!" Leni spoke up, joy filling her voice.

"I suppose so?" Rita scratched her head in confusion.

"Great! Cause I got some totes cute pictures of Cliff doing the cutest thing ever! I'm sure I'm gonna win!" And with that, she began to go through the phone, eager to find the video that would win her contest… if it existed.

Rita paused for a moment."…Anyways, pro-gamers take these tournaments very seriously. People have sat at their computers for so long that they actually died while practicing!" She rubbed the back of her head. "I myself used to get home on Friday night and start practicing for so long that I'd actually go to sleep Monday at 3 AM… and that was off-season gaming," she shivered. "Don't even get me started with on-season practice."

"Wow… That serious, huh?" Lori couldn't help, but look on in awe. "I don't even go that hard when I'm practicing for golf.

"Yeah. Major-league gamers work themselves to the bone to build up their stamina, sharpen their reflexes and build their knowledge of the game and their opponents."

Lynn's eyes went wide. "T-that sounds like something I'd do."

"Yeah, surprising ain't it?" Rita chuckled. "Speaking of knowledge, we're gonna need to talk about your opponents here."

"Ok," Lincoln nodded, before hitting the game's pause feature, prompting Rusty to do the same, halting their match temporarily. Then, just as he let go, a jolt of electricity rushed through his hands. "What the?!"

"Remember Lincoln, you have to keep going in the game. Multitask." She commanded. "A true gamer needs to be aware of their surroundings."

Lincoln nodded in understanding, before continuing onward in the game.

"This is an open queue tournament, meaning that anyone and everyone will be allowed to play here," she went through the rules. "This means that you're gonna go up against elite and new players."

"All right then…" Lincoln gulped.

"Hey mom… why are you going so hard on Lincoln?" Lana approached her mother, her gaze filling with concern. "He's… getting really tired from the looks of it."

In response, the woman sighed. "Lana, sometimes you have to push yourself far so you can build yourself up." She looked at the young boy. _"He has talent from what I saw of him, but it won't be enough on its own…"_

" _And I will build myself up!"_ Lincoln thought, before the screen in front of him declared. "You win!" In green text, "I did it!" Lincoln flared his arms in excitement. "I beat all of my friends!"

Rita gave a prideful smile. "Great job, Lincoln!"

"Yay…" He went, only to feel his eyes grow heavy for a moment. Then, before he knew it, he found himself falling to the side and landing on one of the rubber mats. _"I'm so tired…"_ he clutched the controller tightly to his chest, as if it were his Bun Bun. _"Just… five minutes…"_ And with that, his soft snores filled the room.

She giggled, covering her mouth as she did so. "Hehe, one day of training has managed to tire the poor boy out," she grabbed the fast-developing camera resting on the nearby desk and snapped a photo of the sleeping boy, with the image appearing soon after.

"So like, are we done for the day?" Leni tilted her head in curiosity.

Rita nodded. "Yeah, let's go grab your brother and head home," she looked at her son with a soft, understanding gaze. "We're gonna test him again tomorrow."

And with that, the Louds collected their brother, bid Litwak goodbye for the night and went home, hope filling the air as they did so.

1-12-12 20-8-1-20 9-19 13-9-19-19-9-14-7 14-15-23 9-19 19-23-5-5-20 22-9-3-20-15-18-25.

 **A/N Sometimes the simplest chapter is the best. Now that this is done it's time to get into the meat and potatoes of the story! I hope you guys enjoyed and see ya next week! Heh, I really am getting back into things.**

 **And as always, feel free to come by the TLH discord and PM me if you'd like to talk!**

 **Song Used: "You're The Best Around" By Joe Esposito**

 **Guest Reviews** **(C1):**

 **Shiningvoice53: Who knows? Maybe he will, maybe he won't.**


	3. Finding A Legacy

**A/N One week later and Chapter 3 is finally here! Only… several more to go! I hope you guys have enjoyed this so far! Now it's time for Rita's legacy to come into view!**

 **As always R &R!**

Chapter Three: Finding A Legacy

"So, how's Lincoln doin', Lori?" Rita glanced back at her daughter, her young son resting in her arms. "I haven't heard a peep from him since he passed out," with that, she opened the front door.

Lori looked down at the white-haired boy, carefully taking in his exhausted features. _"Man… he really pushed himself,"_ his body had fallen limp, with one arm now lazily holding onto the controller he had fallen sleep with. A small stream of drool made its way down the side of his cheek, spilling onto his shirt- though the young woman doubted he would mind. "He looks fine, mom, just exhausted."

The woman smiled. "All right then, would you mind taking him up to his room? He needs to take a break before we continue tomorrow."

"All right, mom," Lori nodded, before stepping past the woman and heading up the stairs, leaving the rest of her family alone in the living room.

"Well, I'd like to think that he did well today everyone," Rita turned to face her daughters, while Lynn Sr. quietly walked passed them all and into their shared room. "And I thank you girls for helping out. I doubt we would've been able to get anything done if it wasn't for your help."

"No problem, mom," Luan held up the empty bucket of water she had launched at her brother several times during their training session. "I don't want our brother to **hit the can** while he's playing on Friday!"

"The poor guy's tuckered out though…" Luna spoke with concern filling her voice. "I'm not sure if pushing him for another day is gonna be good for him…"

"Yeah…" Lynn added, only to quickly shake her head and chuckle. "What a lightweight. He couldn't even last a whole day before passing out!"

"But he was so cute after he fell asleep with his little controller!" Leni held her hands together and popped her leg in daydream. "I wonder if I could make him a shirt that makes it more comfy though…."

"I still do not understand why you take this so seriously," Lisa shook her head. "Passing out while practicing does not bode well for his ability to win the tournament."

"Now Lisa, you don't have to be so pessimistic!" Lana crossed her arms before motioning with her hands. "I mean sure, passing out means that he's probably not gonna be able to stay awake long enough to even finish round one and that he might fall asleep during a game, but… what was I talking about?"

Rita chuckled. "Now girls, I doubt you all have to worry about it much," she turned, approached a nearby bookshelf, took the chance to pull out the photo she had taken, and grabbed a familiar album.

"Yeah, yeah, it's his first day," Lynn waved her off, before flaring her arms for emphasis. "But come on mom, you've gotta admit, he knocked himself out pretty easily."

The woman responded by turning out and shaking her head. "Now Lynn, you know he's not the only one to pass out on his first day. I myself remember a certain athlete working so hard that she knocked herself out too!"

"What are you talking about?" Lynn tilted her head in confusion.

Rita held her hand up to her mouth and giggled. "I'll show you," before she took a seat on the couch and began flipping through the album- quickly overlooking random family photos and portraits, only to end up on one labeled: "Lynn's first day of football practice!"

Suddenly, Lynn's once proud demeanor broke, while her eyes went wide in shock and her cheeks went red in embarrassment.

"Well I guess that's how you become a gridiron maiden!" Luan threw her head back in laughter, much to her little sister's dismay.

The picture, of course, was of Lynn, clutching a pigskin ball close as she slept on the field, seemingly unaware of the people watching her nearby. Rita couldn't help, but feel a soft nostalgia at the sight. "Why, you pushed yourself so hard that day, that the coach was actually worried you'd need an ambulance! Luckily I talked him down," The woman looked at her daughter, the young girl unwilling to look her mother in the eye. "You did great that day."

"Thanks mom…" Lynn replied with an embarrassed tone.

Rita giggled once more. "Don't worry Lynn, you and Lincoln aren't the only one to pass out after practice," before she put the photo in the open page next to Lynn's.

Immediately, the young girl perked up. "R-really?!"

"Yeah," she nodded… only for Lori come down the stairs.

"All right everyone, Lincoln's in bed," the young woman approached her waiting family. "What's next?"

"Oh Lori, I was just about to show you what happened after you started practicing with your father's golf clubs!" Rita quickly flipped to the first page of the album, allowing the image of a young Lori sleeping away inside a golf bag, using a bag of golf balls as a pillow. "Oh you looked so cute snuggled up like that!"

"I'll be honest, that thing was more comfortable than I expected," Lori rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Especially when the clubs weren't in it."

Rita then turned to the next page. "And then here's Leni after she decided to make her first dress!" And with that, a youngerLeni's exhausted face comes into view- the young girl having stitched together random swaths spare fabrics into a blanket and fallen asleep under them. "And Luna after we bought her: her first guitar!" And a sleeping Luna came into view after that. She slept on the guitar, using it as a stand for her arms and head.

"This is literally embarrassing," Lori crossed her arms and looked away, blushing as she did so..

"You can say that again, sis," Luna looked away as well.

Rita simply smiled in response and continued to flip through the book. "And here's Lana after plumbing class…"

 _ **The Next Morning…**_

And a few hours later, the sun rose over the Loud House once more, illuminating the room of a certain 11-year-old.

"Ugh…" he groaned, raising his arm to cover his eyes. "Morning already?" He tried to move his other arm, only for his muscles to scream out in pain. _"I guess that's not happening right now…"_ se took a deep breath. _"I must've knocked myself out yesterday…"_

Slowly, his mind began to wander to the events of the previous afternoon. How his mother and sisters had decided to work together to train him up for the tournament.

And how he had passed out after defeating his friends.

He cracked a smile. _"Heh, I guess I really am getting better…"_ slowly, his mind wandered over to Mr. Litwak, how he had acted when he saw his mother and all of the stories he had told him. _"Man… he really seemed to respect her… The Hunter of Fairyland…"_ a cold shiver ran down his spine. _"Will I ever be able to live up to her?"_

*Knock* *Knock* a familiar sound filled the small room. "Lincoln? You awake yet?"

"Y-yeah Lori! I'm up," he forced himself to upright. "Just tired and stuff…"

"No problem. Mom made pancakes to celebrate your work last night!" She slowly pushed the door open. "I'll tell her to save some for you."

He cracked a smile, before forcing his aching muscles to obey, allowing him to turn to face his sister. "No, no, I don't think that'll be necessary," he laughed. "Mom knows me too well."

"Yep, her pancakes are enough to get even the sleepiest giant to get off their butt," she stepped into the room and took a seat next to her little brother. "So, how are you feeling? Well, besides tired."

"A bit sore too," he swung his legs off the bed, allowing them to dangle over its side. "Nothing too serious."

"Good." She ran her hand through his soft, white locks. "Luckily for you, Mom said that you're not gonna be working out today."

Immediately, he turned her in surprise. "W-what?! But the tourney's in a few days! Don't I have to keep training?!"

"She didn't say," the young woman shrugged and hopped to her feet. "Come down and I'm sure she'll tell ya what the plan for today is," and with that, she made her way out the door, taking the chance to look back. "And good job again, we were impressed and I'm sure mom was too."

" _Yeah… but can you ever live up to her? I mean, she's a legend! And you're just… her son. The son of a legend…"_ he nodded, doing his best to not put on a forlorn expression, before he too hopped to his feet, ignoring the pain rushing through his legs, before both he and Lori went downstairs in search of their mother.

* * *

"Ahh there you are!" Rita cheerfully greeted, turning towards her son. "Did you sleep well, Lincoln?"

The boy nodded wearily. "Yeah. I am a bit sore though," he rubbed the back of his head. "I guess it's what I get, from working out so hard."

"Don't worry, that's completely normal," the woman waved her son off. "Besides, you looked cute while you were knocked out."

"Yeah! You should've seen yourself!" Lynn spoke up, before she shoved another slice of pancake in her mouth. "You ended up holding the controller like it was Bun Bun!"

Lincoln's face went red. _"I guess that explains why my hands felt like they were gripping something all night."_ Before he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh… uhh… I guess I was just really tired last night."

"It's fine, really, it is" Rita placed a plate of pancakes in front of the table's empty seat, while motioning for her son to come along. "Heh, you're gonna have to keep working that hard if you wanna get ready for this weekend."

The boy nodded in understanding. "I know," before he looked up, towards his mother. "So what're we doin' today, mom?"

Rita turned away and flipped another pancake. "Hmm, well, I was thinking… since we're still working on getting you ready for the tourney on Friday, how about we visit the old gaming guild I joined when I first started?" She turned back to face her children. "Plus, we can get you acquainted with other games while we're there."

Immediately, Lincoln's eyes went wide in surprise. "R-really mom?!"

"Yeah." She smiled at him. "Do you wanna go? I mean, we could just go back to training at the arcade. After all, I doubt Mr. Litwak would mind if we kept using his back room."

For a moment, Lincoln considered the options. _"Why am I doubting myself so much? I aced the training yesterday and I'm sure mom thinks I'll be the best!"_ he steeled his gaze and smiled as well. "Sure mom, I'd love to see the guild!" He cut into his pancake and shoved the slice in his mouth. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Can we, like, come too, mom?" Leni asked, her voice filling with excitement.

"Yeah mom, after seeing how good Lincoln was against his friends, I'm pretty sure seeing him action against dedicated gamers is gonna be awesome!" Lynn flared her arms in excitement.

Yet, their mother held up her hand in denial. "I'm sorry girls, but it's for gamers only," she finished flipping one more plate of pancakes, before she turned off the stove and brought her meal over to the table to join her children, "as much as I'd like to bring you all along, you girls coming would be like bringing an optimist to one of Lucy's poetry readings."

"Sigh…" the young Goth girl went. "It would break the dark and gloomy atmosphere required to properly appreciate the art that you are trying to create?"

And her mother nodded. "Well, besides the dark and gloomy part, yes."

"Yeah, I think I understand," Lori shrugged. "So what do you want us to do while we wait for you to come back?"

Rita rubbed her chin. "Hmm, well, there really isn't much I could ask you to do. How about you girls take a break and have some fun?" She looked at her daughters. "After all this is your vacation too, I don't want you to spend it just helping Lincoln out."

"But mom!" Lynn whined. "Helpin' out Lincoln's a boat load of fun!"

"Yeah!" Luan added. "He's so cute when he's doing his impression Sleeping Beauty too!"

" _Man, I really was out of it last night,"_ Lincoln's face immediately went red in embarrassment once more.

Rita once more held her hand up again. "If you really wanna help out, then how about coming up with interesting ways to test him while we go to the mall tomorrow?"

"We're going to the mall?!" Lola's eyes went wide in surprise.

"Yep," Rita rubbed the back of her head. "Part of the reason why I wanna go to the guild today is so that I can find out just how much has changed since I retired…" she glanced at Lincoln once more. "And to find out what I'm gonna have to get for you to use before you enter the tourney."

Lincoln's eyes lit up. "All right then!" He took one final bite out of his pancake, allowing the fluffy treat to pass through his taste buds for a moment, before swallowing them whole and hopping to his feet- the exhaustion that had once held him back dissipating as he did so. "So when do we go?!"

"When I'm finished with my pancakes," Rita replied, using her free hand to ruffle her son's hair.

The boy smiled and nodded, before he turned and bolted up the stairs.

And within a few minutes, the duo sat together in Vanzilla, with the woman driving along unfamiliar roads as they made their way to their destination.

" _Man, I still can't believe my mom's a pro-gamer. From the sound of it, not even Lori knew, and she was around when mom decided to retire!"_ He couldn't help, but chuckle at the thought. _"Still… there's so much else that I don't know… will I ever be able to live up to her?"_

"Are you excited, Lincoln?" Rita turned to her son.

"Huh?" Quickly, the boy snapped out of his trance.

"Are you excited to see where your mom learned the basics of pro-gaming?" She continued, her voice filling with a hint of nostalgia.

" _Do I really want to?"_ Lincoln quickly found the words eluding him. "I don't know…"

"How come?" The woman looked at her son in confusion.

"It's nothing. Just… I'm a bit nervous is all," he rubbed the back of his head. "I've only had a day of practice so far… what if I go to the guild and someone who's trained harder than me comes by and kicks my butt?!"

"Now Lincoln, there's nothing to worry about," she turned to face the road ahead. "The people there may have been training for years, yes, but if they challenge you, it's all in good fun. And if you lose it's no big deal. After all, you learn more from defeat than victory."

The boy turned to his mother and raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah," she continued. "Besides, we're all pros in the guild, so to us, a loss doesn't matter so long as we learn from it," she then moved her right hand and ran it through her son's hair. "There's nothing to be worried about. I'm sure they're gonna like having you around there too!"

" _I hope you're right…"_ Lincoln took a deep breath, doing his best to calm his tense nerves as he did so. And yet, he found his mind racing instead: about the hundreds of possibilities that could arise. _"What if I'm challenged and lose? What if everyone laughs at me?! What if- what if my sisters find out?"_ His thoughts stopped at the idea of his sisters. " _I can't believe they wanted to help me out…"_

Suddenly, thousands of memories began to flood his mind, of all the times he had asked them for help- of all the times thy came through for him when he needed them most. _"Maybe they're happy that I've finally found something I like… or maybe they just wanna help me succeed or something… well, whatever it is, I'm glad they're on my side here."_

Rita glanced at her son and took a concerned breath. _"He's worrying too much,"_ and turning Vanzilla onto an unfamiliar road, brining the duo in front of what looked like some random house in the middle of a suburb. "We're here, Lincoln."

The boy watched as his mother pulled the van into the home's oversized driveway, where several other cars were parked. "All right mom," he gulped in fear. _"I can do this."_

His mother nudged him. "And don't worry. I've seen you train and play. I know that if anyone wants to see if you're really the son of the Hunter of Fairyland, I'm sure you'll be able to hold them off easy," she wrapped her arms around her son and pulled him into a warm embrace. "I believe in you Lincoln, are you ready to go?"

" _Thanks, mom,"_ Suddenly, Lincoln felt himself clinging closer to his mother, allowing her warmth to envelop him. _"I hope you're right,"_ before he took a breath, looked up at his mother and nodded. "Sure mom, let's go."

And with that, the duo hopped out of the family van and approached the small home.

* * *

"Just remember, these are pro gamers, they demand respect, ok?" Rita reminded, ringing the bell as she did so.

Lincoln nodded. "Got it mom," and the door buzzed to life, signaling that the occupants allowed them to enter.

"Welcome to my original home away from home!" The woman excitedly pushed the door open, allowing a rather quaint interior to come into view. The floor was a simple mahogany, while the walls were made of white plaster. In the foyer sat a lone receptionist, eagerly waiting for the duo to approach.

"Hello there!" She went. "How may I help you?"

Quickly, Rita dug into her purse and pulled out a small, golden card. "Hello, I'm a member here and this is my son," she motioned towards her companion. "We would like to enter."

"Is your son a gamer as well?" The woman cheerfully asked.

And Rita nodded in affirmation. "In training, but yeah. I wanted to introduce him to the place where I got my start."

"All right then," she turned to the white-haired boy. "Currently, some guild members are preparing to enter a tournament this coming weekend, so if you find someone locked in concentration, please do not approach them… though I doubt they would even respond if you did so."

The duo nodded, before Rita grabbed her son's hand. "All right," and with that, she tugged him into the next room: the main area of the home.

As soon as Lincoln stepped through the simple wooden gate, his gaze fell upon a group of four young men, sitting in front of the same amount of computers, as they played what looked to be a random FPS game. _"It's probably Call of Battlefield 4: Honor Halo…"_

"Heh, back in my day, we didn't have multiple tourneys going on at the same time." Rita chuckled. "Things really have changed in the thirteen years I was gone."

"Huh?" Lincoln looked up at his mother. "What are you talking about?"

She ruffled his hair again. "Oh nothing. It's just; back when I used to play competitively, most tourneys wouldn't fall on the same day. That's how I was able to go to so many in my time."

"Oh…" Lincoln turned back to the four men. " _I wonder how good they are,"_ he smiles at the thought. _"I'm sure mom could beat them easily."_

"Rita?! Is that you?!" A voice cried out, before a man and a woman approached the Loud Matriarch.

"Ralph and Margret?" Rita's eyes went wide in shock. "Is that really you?!"

"Haha! In the flesh!" The man laughed. "What's it been? Fifteen years since we last saw you around here, Rita?"

"Heh, well thirteen," Rita nodded, taking the chance to push Lincoln forward, ever so slightly. "How have you two been?"

Margret smiled and looked up at Ralph. "Oh, we've been all right," She raised her left hand, allowing a small diamond ring to come into view. "And guess what, we finally got married!"

Instantly, the mother's eyes went wide in surprise, before she threw her arms around the duo, pulling them into a big embrace. "I can't believe it! Why didn't you guys invite me to the wedding?!"

"We wanted to," Ralph answered. "Since you got us together and all, but after you retired and moved away, you never told anyone where you lived!"

The woman's once upbeat face fell downcast for a moment. "Oh…" before she instantly perked up again. "Oh well then. I guess doing my best to keep my old life away from my new family did have its drawbacks after all."

"Speaking of families, where are Lori and Leni?" Margaret did her best to stifle a giggle. "Why, the last time I saw them, they were jumping around everywhere! If we weren't a bunch of professional ignorers I doubt we would've been able to handle them!"

"Heh they're at home with the rest of my daughters," she motioned towards the boy standing by her side. "I brought my son Lincoln today," Rita looked down at her son and smiled. "He's gonna be goin' to a tourney soon."

"Oh?" Ralph broke free of Rita's grip and approached the young boy, squatting in front of him as he did so. "Hello there. Are you planning on becoming a pro-gamer like your mother?"

Lincoln gave a shy nod in response. "I-I'm not sure… I told my mom I wanted to enter a tournament his Saturday so she decided to train me."

"Oh Rita, still training young ones I see," Margaret shook her head with a smile.

The woman shrugged. "What can I say? I admire the desire to learn I see in those that ask me to teach them. My son is no different."

Yet, all Lincoln could do, was tilt his head in confusion. "Uhh, what is she talking about, mom?"

"I've had many pupils over the years, Lincoln," she chuckled, while looking into her son's eyes. "When it was off-season for E-sports, some people would hire me to teach and train them for on-season work. Though of course, very few were even able to keep up with the Genius of Hazeltucky Ranch."

"Still got that title I see," Ralph chuckled as well. "Those people held one tournament in Hazeltucky all those years ago and you up and get your own title from it," the man turned, walked over to a nearby TV and turned it on. "Did you ever lose it?"

Rita walked behind him. "Nope. Many have tried, but none succeeded. I'm the only person to actually have been able to retire from that game without losing my championship title."

"Heh well then, catch," Ralph tossed an old controller over to Rita, with the latter not hesitating to catch it. The former continued. "How about another hop in the saddle? Let's see if motherhood has dulled your senses at all."

Rita smiled and nodded. "Sure," before she turned to her son. "Lincoln, why don't you take a look around? I'm sure there are other people your age around here. Maybe you could even find someone who's entering the tournament as well. This would be the perfect time to gauge of your opponents."

"All right mom," Lincoln nodded, doing his best to ignore the gnawing feeling beginning to fill the pit of his stomach.

And with that, Ralph flipped the console's power switch, bringing the device to life and causing his mother's gaze to harshen, just as it did in her game against Lincoln.

" _It's nothing. My mom may be legendary, but I can learn!"_ He took a breath. " _I can win the tourney,"_ before he slowly made his way over to a set of stairs and climbed up. _"Man… my mom has a lot of titles…"_

Soon enough, Lincoln found himself standing in a rather large hallway decorated with random portraits and gaming posters between each of the doors. _"Let's go find someone my age…"_ he slowly walked up to the first door on the right and opened it up, revealing a small bedroom- no doubt reserved for those days where some of the guild members would like to stay over to practice the night before a competition. _"I wonder how many times mom has slept here…"_

Quickly he closed the door and turned, before checking the door across from the first, only to find another bedroom, not that he minded of course. After that, he focused his attention on the next door- this one seemingly older than the others, with a faded wooden finish and rusted brass handle. _"I wonder what's behind door number three…"_

With a deep breath, he grabbed the knob and pushed it open, causing hundreds of random awards to come into view; from simple plaques resting in well-maintained cabinets, to trophies so large that they stood up against the wall. And all Lincoln could do was look on in awe. _"Wow…"_

And amongst the countless awards stored there, stood a small trophy, resting upon a small podium that was illuminated by a single spotlight. _"I wonder…"_ slowly, he approached the centerpiece of the award-filled room and read aloud. "1st Place, League of Heroes. 1995."

"Cool trophy, huh?" A voice called out.

Immediately, Lincoln turned to face the source- a white-haired girl dressed in a pink sweater and blue shorts. "Uhh what?"

"That trophy," she approached the boy. "Looks cool, doesn't it?"

The boy turned back to face the award, his heart beginning to race as he did so. "Y-yeah."

The girl stepped passed him and put her hands on her hips. "Legend has it that that was the first award earned by the legendary Dragon of Royal Woods," a small smile forming on her face as she said so. "Heck, every award here was earned by the dragon!"

"Huh, that's cool I guess…" Lincoln found his voice trailing off. _"Wow… the first award she received…"_ before his gaze hopped from award to award. _"And of many more to come…"_

"Yeah it is!" She cheerfully replied. "Anyways, you're looking for the gaming room, right?"

"The gaming room?" Lincoln tilted his head in confusion.

The girl nodded. "Yeah. Since all the adults practice downstairs, they let us junior gamers to practice up here in the gaming room," she turned and motioned for him to follow. "It's in the last room, the rest of these are for storage and award cases."

"Sure…" Lincoln's voice trailed off, before the girl turned and ran out of the room, allowing Lincoln to glance at the award and game that had brought the dragon into the world of E-sports. _"Will I ever live up to her? Heck, will I even be able to live up to my mother?!"_ He shook his head, before following the girl."By the way, what's your name?"

"Sambell," she replied. "But everyone here calls me, Sam."

"I'm Lincoln," he paused for a moment "So uhh, Sam, are there other kids around here?" He followed her over to a random door.

"Plenty. Since summer break is on, the first tourneys of the season are underway," she then grabbed the door and opened up, revealing a small group of children, tapping away and playing the games that they sought to practice before their time to compete would come. "In fact, there are three tourneys overlapping this weekend."

"Wow…" he spoke with a hint of disbelief.

"If you're entering one, I'm sure one of us wouldn't mind helping you prepare. It's always fun to have more people playing a game ya know," she rubbed the back of her head. "Plus playing online for long stretches of time is exhausting."

"Oh, well I'm gonna enter the LOH:AD2 tourney this weekend, anyone entering that one around here?"

Sambell smiled. "Yeah, two of us are. Chandler and me," she then turned. "Hey Chandler! You busy right now? We've got another person entering the open queue!"

"Oh?" Chandler paused the match he was on- no doubt against AI's or else he wouldn't be allowed to do so- before turning towards the duo. "Oh really, Larry?"

"It's Lincoln," the boy grimaced.

"Doesn't matter to me much," Chandler chuckled and waved him off. "Whether I know your name or not, I'm still gonna crush you."

"Don't be like that, Chandler." Sambell puffed her cheeks out in annoyance.

"Pff, whatever," he waved her off. "I can be as cocky as I want. My dad's hired a master of the game to train me in solo-queues for the past two months. If anyone's winning that tourney, it's gonna be me!"

Sambell giggled. "Oh really now? Then why do you refuse to play me and only fight against bots set to 'very easy'?"

Instantly, the redhead's face went red in embarrassment. "That's because I wanna save my strength for the tourney. Just you watch, I'm gonna take home the prize like it's nothing!"

"Yeah, and while we're making jokes about what's gonna happen at the tournament, how about we say that the Dragon of Royal Woods is gonna come by and challenge the first place winner to a match!" Sambell threw her head back in laughter.

For a moment, Lincoln hesitated, his mind starting to fill with random thoughts once more. "So… Uhh… do you guys wanna play a game or something? You know, since we're playing in the same tournament on Friday?"

Sambell rubbed her chin. "Hmm, not sure. I mean it'd be nice to get a gauge on you, Lincoln, but that wouldn't be fair, now would it?"

The boy shrugged in response. "I guess that's understandable…" he looked out the door, his mind wandering over to the countless awards he had seen mere moments prior. "Hey Sam… what do you know about the Dragon Of Royal Woods?"

"Not much, but then again who does know about her?" She replied by walking over to one of the open consoles. "All we ever get told was that she came from Royal Woods, became one of the greatest gamers ever and then retired thirteen years ago," she looked at the boy with a sincere gaze. "Heck, no one tells us her name because she asked for her anonymity when leaving! It's almost a shame she retired, but in the end, all things have to come to an end eventually."

"Yeah…" Lincoln walked over to another one of the open consoles. "So uhh… how do you practice on one of these things?"

"Just strap on the goggles and set your hearing check. Some people prefer to tune out all nose through these headphones, though when we're off season and not taking practice too seriously, we usually keep the noise-cancelling feature off so we can chat."

"Huh, that's handy," Lincoln quipped, taking a set of the headphones and goggles in hand, before slipping them on, causing the once chaotic sounds of the game room to go silent, only for him to immediately take them off. _"After living in my home for as I have, hearing nothing but silence is pretty surprising…"_

"Heh, not used to them?" Sambell chuckled. "Don't worry, it takes some time getting used to the sound-cancelling effect."

Lincoln rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I guess that makes sense… right?"

"Yeah, we all had to get used to them," she slipped on a pair of goggles and headphones. "Set them to 'off' and we'll be able to talk while we play. And make sure to set the bots to the highest difficulty you're comfortable with. But remember…" she glanced at Chandler. "Don't put them on easy, easy bots literally let you hit them and don't fight back."

The boy chuckled. "All right Sam, all right," before focusing his gaze on the nearby screen and getting to work.

 _ **A Few Hours Later…**_

"Hey Lincoln," Rita placed a soft, caring hand upon her son's shoulder, causing the boy to break free of his training-induced trance.

"Huh?" He quickly took off the goggles and headphones, turning towards the woman as he did so. "Oh, hey mom, what's up?"

The woman chuckled. "Looks like you were enjoying the old game room," she ran her hand through the boy's hair. "Anyways, I'd hate to pry you away from your training, but dinner's here."

"Dinner?" Lincoln tilted his head in confusion. "Uhh… I thought we'd be going home tonight?"

"We are, but since everyone's working through on-season training, and since it's been a long time since I last came here, Ralph and Margaret decided it'd be a good idea to buy pizza for everyone," she then turned and motioned for her son to follow her. "Come on, let's get some while it's still fresh!"

" _Man… it's been a while since I ate pizza…"_ Lincoln smiled, before nodding and following his mother downstairs. And within a few moments, the duo sat at the head of a small table, with the other seats occupied by Sambell, Chandler, Ralph, Margaret, and the other gamers- who just so happened to be so enthralled by their practice that they brought their consoles over to the table to practice while eating.

"Well, it looks like motherhood really hasn't dulled you at all, Rita," Ralph chuckled, taking a slice of the pie as he did so.

"Heh, why would it?" Rita chuckled, before grabbing a slice and placing it on Lincoln's plate. "I get all the practice I could ever want from raising my kids."

"You've got eleven now, right?" Margaret cut in, curiosity filling her voice.

And Rita nodded. "Yeah, ten girls and one son," she smiled at the thought of her family. "What about you two?"

"Sambell is our daughter," Margaret smiled at her white-haired girl. "She's planning on entering the tourney this Saturday too!"

"I wonder if she'll go up against Lincoln then," Rita chuckled. "That'd probably be an interesting match to see play out."

"Yeah…" Lincoln's voice trailed off, while he just stared at the slice of pizza in front of him, his mind jumping from thought to though. _"My mom was amazing… she won every game she entered and I'm her son now… and then there's the Dragon of Royal Woods…"_ he breathed a sigh. _"Will I ever even be able to be as good as they were?"_

"Lincoln, you haven't eaten yet…" Rita placed her hand on her son's back. "Are you feeling ok?"

Quickly, Lincoln broke free from his thoughts and nodded. "Y-yeah. I was just thinking of the tourney and all the training we're doing for it and stuff."

Concern filled Rita's eyes. No doubt she didn't believe what her son was claiming. And yet, she simply nodded in acceptance.

"So…" Lincoln looked up at Ralph and Margaret. "How long have you known my mom? I mean, you sound like she's been your friend for years!"

Ralph laughed and held his stomach. "I used to train with her! She and I were the best of friends and rivals!"

Margaret then added. "And I used to play along with them." She awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "Though their games were never my thing…"

"Now Margaret, don't sell yourself short," Ralph took his wife's hand in his own. "At one point, you were able to dominate us! That is, until Rita started dominating everyone."

Curiosity began to fill Lincoln's body once more. "About that… how strong was my mom back when she still played and competed?"

"Not that strong, son," Rita waved her son off. "I just won a lot."

"Not that strong?!" Disbelief filled Ralph's voice, before he threw his head back in laughter. "My, my Rita, you never lost your sense of humor," the man turned towards Lincoln. "My boy, your mother isn't called the 'Queenpin of Foggy London' for nothing! She was so feared in her hayday that only the best of the best gamers even dared to go against her! She was called the Magician from Michigan because no matter what game she picked up, she would always be able to master it before even finishing the loading screen!"

"Haha!" Margaret laughed as well, before speaking in an excited voice.. "One time, I offered her to play some chess so she would be able to relax a bit. Instead, she ended up playing against the world chess champion in a one-on-one game… and a winning in what FIDE calls: 'The American Immortal'."

Suddenly, Sambell's eyes went wide in realization, before she nudged Lincoln. "Wow Lincoln! Your mom is amazing!"

"Yeah… I guess she is," he put on a wide smile, while the gnawing feeling in his chest builds further than before, seemingly trying to consume him. "What about that legend where she dethroned a master after only studying the game for five minutes?"

Rita blushed. "Heh that's a fun one. Ralph, would you care to explain?"

The man nodded with a smile. "Sure Rita." Before she turned to Lincoln. "So your mother, Margaret and I were visiting Riga, because a lot of famous magicians came from there, and we found out that a regional champion was in town for a exhibition game."

"Don't forget to mention the man was a womanizer and sexist that said girls suck at gaming and that none could beat him," Rita cut in. "He annoyed me a lot."

Ralph nodded. "He was, so when we visited the exhibition hall, your mother challenged him in a game mode of his choice. He chose random party and character smash."

Margaret laughed. "And she destroyed him in a full match. In fact, first round was just a draw, and while Rita was content with it, the guy was pretty annoyed."

"How come, mom?" Sambell's voice filled with curiosity.

And she continued. "Because she wounded his pride. So he challenged her again to decide the winner… only for Rita here to proceed to beat him three more times, before he resigned the match entirely."

"He still tries to get a rematch against me every now and then. Which I always answer, and he has still never beat me," the woman quickly looked around. "I think he low-key has a crush on me."

And everyone at the table laughed with that.

"Rita Oak was one of the greatest gamers of all time," Ralph continued. "It's good to have her back!"

Margaret chuckled. "Heh, you're gonna have a tough time livin' up to her, Lincoln."

"Yeah, right," the boy sheepishly smiled, waving them off as he did so. "But I'm sure I'll manage."

"If you do, then you really will be your mother's son!" Ralph threw his head back in laughter again.

" _Yeah… my mother's son…"_

12-15-15-11-19 12-9-11-5 19-1-13-2-5-12-12 9-19 4-15-9-14-7 23-5-12-12 1-6-20-5-18 8-5-18 8-5-1-4 19-21-18-7-5-18-25

 **A/N Ahh, sometimes it's fun to find a place where you can see all of a legend's achievements… unless you're Lincoln. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed! I thank my friends on Discord for looking this over before I posted it!**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Guest 1: Heh sometimes you just gotta be blunt about what you want. And there's no more blunt way than felony assault.**

 **Guest 2: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I can't wait to see how the game ends!**

 **Guest (C1): I will die, and so will everyone you love and care for.**

 **Guest 3: May he rest in piece**


	4. Mall-Time Follies

**A/N Man, it feels weird not having to write before posting. I wrote all of these chapters out and started editing weeks before I actually started uploading these, with the A/N's and cryptograms at the end of each chapters being added in post-production. So for the most part, this story is already complete. Anyways, for those of you worried about Chandler becoming a main rival, don't worry, the main rival is actually introduced here.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy! R &R!**

Chapter Four: Mall-Time Follies

" _Rita Oak was one of the greatest gamers of all time. It's good to have her back!"_ Those words echoed in Lincoln's mind. _"Heh, you're gonna have a tough time living up to her, Lincoln."_

" _Yeah… right…"_ he remembered himself replying. _"And if you do, then you really will be your mother's son,"_ slowly, he found his gaze moving up, allowing it to rest upon the woman whom held his hand. _"Am I really nothing more than my mom's son?"_

"Lincoln, honey, are you all right?" The woman's soft voice cut through his btrain of thought. "You've been staring at me for the past five minutes."

"Huh?" He snapped back to reality with a shake of his head. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he waved his mother off, before turning and resting his elbow upon the passenger-side window. "I was just thinking of the guild and stuff…"

Rita glanced at her son in concern for a moment. "I see…" before returning her gaze to the road ahead. "Don't worry, those guys have been playing games for years, don't let their aloofness and seriousness get to ya."

" _It's not that…"_ Lincoln's mind quickly replied, while his eyes simply remained focused on the road ahead, allowing a familiar building to come into view. "Uhh… why are we at the mall?"

"I told you, while we may not have that much time to prepare for the tournament, we need to get you the proper equipment to work with," she let go of the steering wheel for a short moment to run her hand through her son's soft, white hair. "After all, no gamer son of mine is gonna be competing on outdated hardware."

" _But what happens if I lose?"_ He put on a sheepish smile and nodded. "Oh, right." And took a soft breath. "Thanks, mom."

The woman simply waved him off, before opening the driver-side door. "No problem, son. Now lets go meet up with the girls. They went ahead to do some scouting and are probably waiting for us."

"T-the girls are here?!" The boy fearfully turned to his mother.

"Don't worry Lincoln, really, there's no need to," Rita covered her mouth as she chuckled. "I made it clear that we're here for you and they can only go shopping after we get you everything we need for your tourney."

He let out a relieved breath with that. _"The last thing I need to do right now is be stuck carrying my sisters' clothes around for who knows how long,"_ only for another thought to cross his mind. _"But, what if that's all I'm good for? Just carrying around my sisters' stuff because they succeeded where I could never…"_ quickly, he shook his head, purging the thought from his mind. "Awesome, lets go then."

Rita cracked a small smile, before guiding the boy over to the double-glass doors, prompting them to open, revealing the ten young girls he called his sisters.

"There you two are!" Lori smiled as she approached her mother. "The girls and I are ready for whatever you wanna do here, mom."

"Good." Rita nodded and put on a harsh, commanding gaze with that. "We didn't make you girls wait too long, now did we?"

Lori shook her head. "Nah, you know how we feel about coming here, even if it's just to help Lincoln get ready for the tournament."

"Sorry about the wait." Lincoln rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I was just tired and stuff."

"No worries Lincoln, its fine. You've been working so hard lately that I'd probably be more surprised if you weren't tired." Rita chuckled, before looking up at her oldest daughter. "Now Lori, I want you to keep tabs on everyone, ok? I'm gonna be busy helping Lincoln get what he needs so I won't be able to watch you all."

The young woman nodded. "All right mom, no problem," she stepped aside and pulled out her phone.

"As for the rest of you." Rita then looked to the rest of her daughters. "We're here to help Lincoln get ready for the competition, not here to let you girls shop for whatever you want, got it?"

"Right!" The girls responded in unison.

"That means I want you all to go find stuff that could help Lincoln out, ok?" Rita looked at Leni and Lola. "I'm gonna need you two to help me find clothes for him to wear. Preferably something professional," she slammed her fist into the palm of her hand. "I want Lincoln to look like he's a gamer, but also that he means business."

Lola and Leni looked at each other for a moment, before turning back to their mother.

"Like! I totes know what to get him!" Leni cheerfully declared, before grabbing Lola's hand. "Lets go!"

"Careful! You're gonna ruin my dress!" Lola whined, though her pleas fell on deaf ears as Leni ran off, pulling her along.

Immediately after that, Rita continued. "As for the rest of you, go off and see what you can find. I'm looking for the best gaming equipment around, so a good idea would be to look for a game store. I'm sure there's at least one in this mall."

"I'm on it!" Lana gave a small salute, before turning and bolting off in a random direction.

"I suppose I'll watch out for her. Sigh," Lucy shook her head, before giving chase to the six-year-old. No doubt she would soon disappear and reappear in front of Lana, just like she always did.

"And the rest of you?" Rita raised an eyebrow, prompting the rest of her daughters to turn and run off in different directions, leaving Lori behind to type on her phone.

"Don't worry mom, I'll keep track of everyone. You go and do you thing," Lori declared, before walking over and taking a seat on a nearby bench.

Rita nodded. "Very well, just try to stay off your phone for a bit, something could happen and I really need you to pay attention, ok?"

Lori "Got it," before she pulled out her phone and began to type.

" _Well… it's better than nothing,"_ Rita mentally shrugged, only to feel a soft tug in her hand, prompting her to look down at her son.

"So uhh… where to first, mom?" Lincoln looked up at the woman.

"Clothes shopping," she flatly responded, before squatting down to his height and looking him in the eyes. "You and I both know how much you hate coming to the mall for clothes, so we're not gonna stay that long, ok?"

Lincoln let out a deep breath. "There's no chance I can't just go in my normal clothes, is there?" He spoke with a begging voice.

"Heh," the woman chuckled. "As much as I wish you could, you need to have a good image. Skill gets you far, but it is far more unnerving to be playing against someone who looks professional than a guy who looks like he's just a casual player."

" _I guess I have no choice then…"_ the boy nodded "All right then mom, all right," before he stood up straight. "Lets go."

And with that, Rita stood up straight as well, before leading the boy over to the first store.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea, mom?" Lincoln asked, his voice filled with fear.

"Of course I am!" The woman put her hands on her hips. "I'm gonna make sure you look like you're ready to destroy anyone that even attempts to get in your way!" She chuckled. "Haha, now come on out, Linc."

The young boy gave an audible gulp in response. "A-all right mom." Before he opened the changing room, allowing his two sisters and mother to feast their eyes upon their work.

Lola raised her palm to mouth, trying her best to stifle her laugh, only to immediately burst out. "Haha! You look like a dork, Lincoln!" She ] fell back, landing on her butt while she continued. "If you go to that contest like that, everyone's definitely gonna think you're a nerd!"

" _I mean… it is a video game tournament…"_ Immediately, Lincoln's face went red in embarrassment. "Oh..."

Leni walked to her brother's side. "I agree, hmm…" she quickly looked the boy over, taking the chance to lift up his arm to get a better look at his shirt's design, before turning him every which way and adjusting his clothes- much like what she would do for her own model.

And after a few minutes, Leni stood up straight and shook her head. "Mom, Lincoln cannot pull this look off. It just doesn't look good on him."

Rita immediately raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why's that, Leni?"

Quickly, she grabbed his arm and raised it once more. "For one, the zigzag design on this shirt is so 80's! I mean, it has random shapes just thrown behind a black background! And is that a monogram on the back?!"

Yet, her mother simply waved her off. "Nah Leni, that's normal. After all, he has to look the part and look like he's there to win after all!"

" _Was my white hair not enough?"_ Lincoln couldn't help but interject.

"And what about his pants?" She quickly raised him up, allowing both her and her mother to get a better look at the garment. "Professional Pants should not have that many pockets! And that's ignoring just how boring the color khaki is!"

"That's for all his equipment and the snacks he'll have to carry!" Rita raised her finger. "Remember Leni, contests like these are all-day affairs and you never know when you're gonna be in the mood for something."

"True, but I really don't think this stuff suits him," she placed him on the floor. "Lastly, what's with this visor?" She grabbed the strange, round set off her brother's face. "This makes it look like he only has one eye!"

"Psychological effect. If your opponent can't see your eyes, it's extremely unnerving," the woman crossed her arms hastily.

Leni rubbed her chin with that. "I just don't think he could pull this off…"

"Nonsense! Back when I used to go to tournaments, everyone dressed up like this! We saw it as a way to prove just how big of a fan you were for the game we were playing! Heck, we even had a prize at the end for most elaborate costume to go in!"

Yet, the young blonde was unconvinced. "What do you think, Lincoln?"

The boy jumped ever so slightly in surprise. "Huh?"

"Like, I may not like this outfit for you, but you could totes wear it if you'd like." She squatted down to his height. "What do you think of it?"

" _Everyone goes like this…"_ Lincoln looked down in thought for a moment. _"If mom is suggesting it, then who am I to question her?"_ He took a deep breath and shrugged. "Sure, Leni, I mean, everyone's going to look like this, right? I don't wanna stick out like a sore thumb, now do I?"

Leni pouted and nodded. "Aww, all right. If you want that…"

"Haha!" Lola laughed once more, before pulling out her phone. "Mom I need you to see this."

"What is it, dear?" Rita walked over and took the device in hand, allowing an image of several people playing games in front of computers to come into view.

Lola did her best to stifle the remaining chuckles she kept. "While you two were talking about Lincoln's outfit, I decided to look up how nerds like Lincoln dress when they go to competitions. That's how they look now."

The excited light in Rita's eyes slowly faded. "Oh… they look more like casual business types rather than memorable gamers…"

"Mom, I-" Lincoln tried to speak up, yet the woman simply shrugged and tossed the phone back into her daughter's hand.

"Times really have changed, huh?" She turned back to her second-oldest daughter. "Leni, I want you to pick Lincoln's look for this, all right?" She smiled at her son. "And make sure he looks like a champion."

" _But I'm only the son of one…"_ The boy could only think, before Leni and Lola both squealed in excitement, before pulling him back into the main store, no doubt they would inundate him with clothes before finally settling on the look he required for the tournament.

 _ **A Few Minutes Later…**_

And after finally deciding upon the clothing he would wear, the quartet walked out of the store, with Lincoln carrying a small bag filled with clothes.

"Are you sure you like those, Lincoln?" Rita placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

" _I don't need to follow everything to be a champion, do I?"_ He quickly thought, _"Why does it feel like everything I'm doing is stuff you've done before?"_

"Lincoln?" the woman shook her son ever so slightly. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Huh?" the boy quickly snapped back to reality. "Y-yeah, I'm fine!" He held up the bag. "And I love these clothes! Thanks you guys!"

"Heh, no problem," Rita stood up straight and turned towards her daughters with that. "All right you two, you're free to shop! Lincoln and I will be continuing our search for equipment. If you find anything interesting, feel free to call!"

Leni and Lola immediately turned to each other, with Leni asking. "You know what this means, Lola?"

"That we can finally visit the new spa that opened up?!" Lola quickly replied.

"Like, yes! I can't wait to feel that steam!" She waved her hand. "It's totes great for my skin!"

"Same here!" the younger girl answered, before the duo bolted off, leaving Rita to pull out her phone.

"Ready for the next stop, Lincoln?" She typed away.

"Yeah." He replied. _"But am I ready for the tourney?"_ Before looking forward, doing his best to stop the train of thought from filling his mind. "Where are we going?"

*Ring* Rita's phone went, prompting the woman to lift the device to her ear. "Yeah Lori?"

" _ **I just got a call from Lynn,"**_ she answered. _**"She said that she wants to help Lincoln train for the tournament since we're not planning on doing anything major today besides getting equipment."**_

Rita rubbed her chin. "I see, did she mention how she's planning on doing that?"

" _ **Not really, but it probably has something to do with karate, I mean, she did ask me to tell you to bring Lincoln to the dojo,"**_ Lori finished.

"Heh, well then it looks like I know where I'm taking him next, thanks Lori," she ended the call and shoved her phone in her pocket, "Well Lincoln, I know where we're going."

"Where?" Lincoln tilted his head.

"The dojo," she turned and grabbed his hand. "The game store is on the other side of the mall anyways so, this is better for us at the moment. Now come on, Lynn's waiting!"

" _This isn't gonna end well."_ Lincoln could only gulp as his mother pulled him over.

 _ **A Few Minutes Later…**_

"Next!" Lynn stretched her arms with her eyes closed, no doubt inviting a sneak-attack from her next opponent, which the young man whole-heartedly attempts… only for the young woman to duck under his grasp and kick up, causing him to crash land in the pile of other men that had tried to take her on. "Man, usually these randoms put on more of a challenge.

"My, my Lynn. It looks like you've been busy," Rita chuckled as both she and Lincoln walked into the room.

The dojo was relatively small, with wide-open space covered by a mat that smelled like the end times. Near the entrance sat a small office made of wood with glass windows in which one of the instructors sat.

"Yeah… you managed to beat… ten guys in the time we split," Lincoln quickly counted, fear filling his voice.

The young woman shrugged. "What can I say? I'm great at what I do."

"We know," Lincoln turned back to her, doing his best to purge the image of ten young men from his mind. "So… why did you call me over?"

"Simple really," she raised her fists. "I wanna make sure that you stay sharp for the tourney. So, I've decided that it'd be a good idea to test your reflexes."

"Yes, and I…" Lisa walked out from the back room, "am here to make sure that you're reacting fast enough." The young girl quickly pulled out a small machine with several wires attached to it."

Lynn and Lisa then looked up at their mother, with the former asking. "So, what do you think mom? Is it a good idea to test Lincoln's reflexes before the tournament?"

The woman rubbed her chin for a moment, before shrugging. "I suppose so. I don't have any serious training planned today so I guess this is the best we're gonna get for now." She looked down at Lincoln, "Do you think you're up for this?"

" _Mom must've had to do this a lot when she played competitively too…"_ Lincoln gulped once more as he approached his older sister and raised his hands. "A-all right. I think I can do it."

"Heh good." Lynn chuckled; quickly raising her fists while Lisa took the moment to attach the device to Lincoln. "Now, think fast!"

Immediately, the young woman threw her first punch, prompting Lincoln to duck out of the way.

"Reaction time, Zero point two-five seconds." Lisa declared, turning towards her mother as she did so. "Average for visual stimuli."

Rita nodded. "Good, that means that he's already up and ready for more."

Without skipping a beat, Lynn chuckled. "First punch and you're already on your toes!" Before she sent her other fist his way, though Lincoln wasted no time raising his hand to block.

" _I can do this!"_ Lincoln took a breath, before the shooting pain of his sister's fist hitting the palm of his hand filled his mind. _"I can't let myself break."_

"Reaction time, zero point two-one seconds. Also, according to these impulses he's experiencing pain from the attack," the young scientist declared, some concern filling her voice. "It seems Lynn has gotten much stronger as of late. That punch dealt more force than last recorded."

"What can I say? Thanks to Lincoln's help, I've been able train way better than usual," with that, she sent another assault her younger brother's way, only for the boy to duck and roll behind her.

"Heh, you've gotta be faster than that," Lincoln chuckled, his heart starting to race as adrenaline flooded his veins. "I've had to dodge you girls so much that making your punches miss is second nature to me!"

"Hi-ya!" Lynn quickly turned and jumped up, trying to send her foot into Lincoln's back, yet his ears twitched and he rolled out of the way, causing her to crash into the very pile of men she herself had knocked out.

"Reaction time, zero point one-one seconds," Lisa looked up at her mother. "He's still in peak reaction time. Perfect for the tournament."

Rita smiled in response. "That's amazing, Lisa," she walked over to her son and ran her hand through his soft, white hair. "Heh, you might even be able to beat my reaction time, zero point zero-five seconds."

Lincoln simply smiled, "Yeah… maybe." Though he couldn't help, but think. _"I'll never be able to be better than you… can I?"_

"That was nice," Lynn forced herself out from the pile of men and stretched for a moment, before approaching her brother. "Man, I miss doing stuff like this with you."

"But I help you train all the time!" Lincoln raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Not just that, Lincoln." The young woman threw her arm around him. "You know, play fighting and exercising together," she chuckled. "No doubt if you had kept at it instead of reading comics and playing games, you'd probably be getting ready for a soccer or football game instead of a videogame tourney."

" _Maybe I'd even be able to do something different… and make something of myself."_ Lincoln shrugged. "Probably, but there's no use trying something different now."

"Yeah," Lynn shrugged. "Anyways, I'm done testing you, what do you think, mom?"

Rita quickly looked down at her watch. "It seems we're running a bit late. Lincoln, lets go get the equipment we came for. Lana and Lucy should've found it by now."

Lincoln nodded. "All right."

And with that, Rita and Lincoln left the dojo with that, leaving Lynn and Lisa behind.

* * *

"Well, that went well, don't you think, Lincoln?" Rita looked down at her son.

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged. "I mean, it would've helped more if she didn't punch so hard and stuff… but I guess it worked out well in the end," though, he couldn't help, but think. _"Meanwhile, while Lynn's showing off how strong she is, I'm sitting around knowing that I'll never be able to live up to what mom has been able to…"_ He then looked up at his mother. "So, what's the plan now?"

"Get your equipment." She looked at her watch. "And if there's still time we could do some more shopping. If not, we're gonna get some game time in at the local arcade during dinner," she smiled. "Freddy Fazbears Pizza sounds like a good idea… even though the animatronics are a bit creepy and games are pretty outdated."

"Sounds fun," the boy responded, interest filling his voice.

"It is. Sometimes, it's nice to have some casual practice while eating some good, extremely greasy pizza," she leaned in close and held her hand to his face. "A fun challenge is seeing if you could keep your hands clean enough to not allow oil to touch your controllers. After all, oily controllers are slippery."

"Did you ever try?" Lincoln asked in curiosity.

"Of course," she smiled. "During peak gaming season I used to do that at least once a week. That way it would become easier to use any controller someone threw at me."

"Got a funny story to back that up too?" Lincoln raised his eyebrow again.

Rita nodded. "Yeah, one time one of my opponents tried to challenge me to see who was better with their hands." She chuckled, "So in an attempt to prove that I was too reliant on a clean controller, he dumped butter all over mine. So imagine his shock when I was able to still take him on and won… horribly!"

"I can…" Lincoln chuckled as well. _"My mom is more amazing than I'll ever be…"_

"Heh now let's go get your equipment before one of your sisters comes by and-" The woman tried to continue, only for one of her daughters to run over shouting. "Mom! Lincoln! I got the perfect song to use for your theme!"

"Well, I wasn't expecting to get to the store for another half hour anyways," Rita laughed. "And you did Luna?"

The young musician nodded. "Yeah, you wanna hear it?"

Rita looked down at her son. "It's up to you."

Lincoln gulped before speaking with a nervous tone. "Sure Luna, sing away!"

And so, she quickly began to strum her guitar, creating a quick metal effect. "They try to beat me but they will not ever defeat me! This time we're on my battleground!" She looked at Lincoln with a determined gaze. "I'm gonna win, trust in me! I have come to save this world! And in the end I'll get the girl!" She paused for a short moment, before quickly continuing, her voice and speed picking up as she reached the second verse. "I've missed it, so twisted and unsurpassed in my head. This sense of power has awakened in me!" She smiled at Lincoln, before turning to Rita. "I feel I could take on the world a day like this! My rage is brewing like a storm! And now the storm has grown out of control! Yeah! Right here, the voice of anger taking tone! Cause now the fire in our hearts explode! Yeah! Baby, let's blow this joint and build our own!"

She then swung her hand once more, before standing up straight. "So, what do you think?"

"I think it was great," Rita smiled and rubbed her daughter's head. "What about you, Lincoln?"

Lincoln smiled and nodded as well. "Same here Luna. Same here"

The young woman smiled. "Awesome! I'm gonna work on that more then!" She turned around and began to walk towards a nearby music store. "By the way, Luan's currently with a cop, she was telling so many puns that some people called mall security to remove her."

"Seriously?!" Rita face palmed in disappointment. "Well that's just great," she shook her head. "Do you know where she is?"

"Right now, I think she's just up ahead, with the cop," Luna answered.

"All right then, let's go," and with that, Rita and Lincoln walked up a bit, only to find Luan telling jokes to the cop and nearby patrons covering their ears in frustration.

"Huh, never mind then." Rita shrugged. "I guess there's no problem here."

Lincoln breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah. No problem at all."

Rita chuckled. "Now come on, lets go get the equipment before we get any more distractions."

And wordlessly, Lincoln followed her.

* * *

"And we're here!" Rita declared as she and Lincoln walked into the small gaming store. "Heh, it hasn't changed a bit since the last time I was here."

" _This place is awesome!"_ Lincoln's jaw dropped in amazement. From what he could see, the store's walls were covered from end to end with games of all shapes, sizes and platforms, while consoles filled the center of the store, with glass cases and specially designed TV's just for demo-ing the consoles.

"Heh, first time seeing a dedicated game store?" Rita chuckled and rubbed her son's head.

"Y-yeah!" Lincoln answered, surprise filling his voice. "I… well we usually buy games from wholesale stores and stuff!"

"That's because we get better deals there," the woman spoke with a soft, motherly voice. "But for dedicated gamers like ourselves, we need to be on the cutting edge of equipment and be ready for all types of games. So stores like these are our best friends," she then raised her hand to her mouth, "Lana! Lucy! Where are you two?"

"Coming!" Lana quickly replied, before jumping in front of her mother. "We got the headset and controller you asked for! They're holding it behind the counter for you!"

Rita nodded. "Good," before she looked at Lincoln. "Why don't you take a look around, you never know what gems of games are hidden in plain sight. I'm gonna buy the equipment."

Lincoln nodded. "All right mom," before he watched his mother walk off, allowing him to look at the carpeted floor for a short moment. _"Am I really nothing more than my mother's legacy? Just following in everything she did?"_ Slowly, he found himself walking over towards the nearby set of shelves, only to find Lucy standing by, her eyes fixed on a certain game involving strange rainbow horses.

"You know, you could get it and hide it," Lincoln whispered. "I won't judge you for it."

"I know…" the young girl replied, looking away as she did so. "But… you know how I am with these things…" she turned back towards her older brother. "How are you handling the attention mom has been giving you lately?"

"I've been all right…" Lincoln's voice trailed off.

Lucy looked back up at the game. "I'm surprised she hasn't asked about what you've been thinking of. Usually when one of us is quiet or has something on our mind, she makes sure to go out of her way to find out."

"She's probably been through it before and stuff… she was a world champion after all…" Lincoln slowly found himself staring at a copy of the game he would soon be playing in the open queue. "And I'm just her son…"

"Sigh… so that's what it is?" The young Goth couldn't help, but crack a small smile at the thought. "When I started writing, you wouldn't believe how many times I thought I'd never be able to get anywhere, but sometimes, you just gotta have faith in yourself, you know?"

" _Easy for you to say… you don't have anyone else in the family saying how good you could be or to look up to, you're your own master when it comes to this stuff!"_ His mind slowly wandered over to the thoughts of his sisters. _"None of them really had to look to our parents for inspiration either… what they did was completely their own while mine… is it really my talent and calling? I know I feel like I have to go, but is it really where my talents lie?"_

"Lincoln! I'm sorry it took so long, but I have finally bought the equipment!" Rita declared, before handing over a rather large bag. "Open it up!"

Slowly, Lincoln did so, allowing a rather oversized set of over-the-ear headphones as well as a custom controller to come into view. "W-what the?!"

"I can't have my gamer son working on old and outdated equipment now. So I decided it was just about time to get you a competitive controller and a good set of gaming headphones so you'll be able to hear everything rather than being forced to rely on our TV's speakers." Rita smiled. "Plus I got you a nice set of gaming gloves to keep your hands warm.

Lincoln smiled. "Thanks mom. I don't know what else to say."

"You don't have to say anything," she raised her finger to him. "But I want you to do your best during the tournament. After all, legends start from humble beginnings." She smiled, "Can you do that? For me?"

The boy took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah… I think I can…"

Rita smiled. "Good. Now come on, we have to go get dinner. It's gonna be fun!" She stood up straight. "Come on Lana and Lucy, dinner's gonna be pizza!"

"Pizza?!" Lana excitedly shouted, with Lucy soon cracking a small smile. "Awesome."

And with that, the trio stepped out of the video game store and met back up with the rest of the Loud Siblings, before moving over to the gaming pizzeria.

It took a few moments to set up a table large enough to accommodate all twelve members of the family present, but when the store finally managed and serve their food, Rita stood up and smiled. "All right Lincoln, eat up as quickly as you can, we're gonna have some fun before we go!"

Lincoln nodded in understanding. "All right mom, all right." Before he devoured his allotted two slices of pizza, stood up, and bolted into the game room, his mother following closely behind.

* * *

"So, what game do you wanna go on, mom?" Lincoln slowly found his gaze wandering from game to game, unsure of just which one to hop on.

"Not sure Lincoln you-" Rita tried to start, only for a familiar voice to call out.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Rita Oak."

Immediately, Rita turned around in surprise. "Allen?"

"Heh, you're looking well," the man chuckled. He was a rather tall man with a medium build. He had soft brown hair ad wore a simple white button down and khaki pants. "How long has it been? Thirteen years since we last played?"

"Just about," Rita chuckled, before looking down at her son. "Lincoln, meet my old friend Allen. Gamer tag: 'The Sage'."

"Wow," suddenly, Lincoln found his eyes lighting up in amazement. "Is it because you're really smart at games?!"

"Why yes!" Allen quickly replied. "I was one of the highest rated gaming teachers of my time and-"

"Now Allen, you and I both know you got that title back in 01' when you decided to spread that name and started giving random advice while trying to frame yourself as very profound." Rita crossed her arms with a smile.

"But, I used to-" Instantly, Allen's face went red in embarrassment.

Rita glared at the man. "Allen."

The man let his arms go limp and sighed. "Fine, you got me there."

"Haha!" Rita playfully punched his arm. "Good, now why don't you tell me why you're here."

He cracked a smile. "My son, Adam, is entering the open queue tournament in a few days and he's holding exhibition matches over there for practice," he first motioned towards the young man waiting nearby, before leaning in close to the woman. "When I saw you, I put two and two together and figured your son might be a gamer too."

Rita nodded. "Yeah, you got that much right," she looked at Lincoln. "Wanna take him on?

"Are you sure this is a good idea, mom?" Lincoln looked Up at Rita, his voice and expression speaking of the fear filling his veins.

Yet, Rita did not waver. "Yes Lincoln, I do," she looked at Allen's son, the young man leaning against the console he had been using for his exhibition matches. "Adam is going to be participating in the tourney. That means that this is a good time to see your competition, and maybe even learn something from him."

Slowly, Lincoln turns towards his opponent, allowing his gaze to fall upon the young boy. "A-all right mom, I think I can do that."

The woman smiled. "Good," only for her to turn and find the sisters standing by, no doubt having heard everything.

"Go get him Linky!" Leni cheered.

"Show him what he Louds can do!" Lynn added, smacking her fist into the palm of her hand as she did so.

"I'm gonna record this," Lori held up her phone.

Lisa shrugged. "I still do not understand what is so alluring about the mind-numbing use of a random pattern generator to play a game," she adjusted her glasses. "But I am sure I will be able to find something interesting if I observe this."

And soon enough, the rest of the Loud siblings followed, them too offering words of encouragement.

" _Well then, looks like I don't have much of choice,"_ Lincoln took a breath with that and approached the master. "Hi there."

"What's up?" The young man pushed off the console, standing up straight as he did so. "Are you here for the exhibition match?"

Lincoln nodded in response. "Y-yeah. Are you… do you wanna go?"

He shrugged in response. "Sure kid, I don't mind," before he walked over to the player one controls and chuckled. "Let's see if you can put up a better fight than all the others I've gone up against today."

" _I can do this. I can do this."_ Lincoln took soft breaths, before glancing at his mother once more. The woman gave him a reassuring nod. "I know you can do it, sweetie. Now go do your best."

And with that, the white-haired boy took the player two controller and logged in with that.

"Remember kid, one warrior, no respawns, no switching out, make your choice carefully," Adam glanced at his opponent, before quickly choosing his own: a woman clad in a purple cloak decorated with green highlights, and wielding a golden spear and a chevron-shaped shield. "I choose the warrior, Elder Entity N'tss."

" _Just stay calm. There's nothing to worry about,"_ the young boy took a deep breath with that. "All right then, and I'll pick the warrior, Socratos," and with that, Lincoln's character appeared, only for both to disappear as the field came into view. It wasn't much, just a 2D background with sprites of the two fighters opposing each other with a small background cheering them on.

"Fight!" The announcer's words echoed through the speakers, prompting the two to go at it.

"Let's not waste any time now," the man's hands quickly ran over the retro controls with that, prompting N'tss to lunge at Socratos.

" _Defend!"_ Lincoln closed his eyes for a quick moment, while he allowed his hands to rush over the controls, ordering the tattooed man to pull out his twin short swords and catch the spear.

Adam raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh? Well this match just got a whole lot more interesting."

Lincoln opened his eyes, and upon seeing what he had done, breathed a mental sigh in relief. _"G-good, I can do this. I can do this!"_

"But not interesting enough!" Immediately, the man commanded his character to continue the assault by upper-cutting Socratos with her shield, forcing him back, as well as stunning him for a moment. "Go! Shining Arrow Strike!"

And with that, N'tss charged her spear and sent it flying at Socratos.

"Counter! Meteor Meltdown!" Suddenly, a wall of flames engulfed the warrior, deflecting the bolt. _"Close call."_

"Too weak, too slow," the young man replied, before shaking his head. "Go, Forbidden Apocrypha!" And immediately, a book appeared in front of N'tss, followed by thousands of letters flying out and surrounding his warrior, before finally dissipating.

Suddenly, Lincoln's eyes went wide as the flames dissipated leaving only his defenseless warrior standing before the woman. "Heh, no defending here, you've gotta take me head-on if you wanna win!"

Lincoln gulped. "Go, Tartarus Flames!" And with that, Socratos raised the twin swords, before smashing them into the ground, causing a column of fire to burst from below N'tss. Yet, the woman warrior simply blocked with the book, freeing N'tss to aim for Socratos.

"This is the end! Go, Judgment's Arrow!" And with that, N'tss slammed the spear and shield together, causing a golden bow and arrow to appear in her hands. She wasted no time after that to aim and fire.

And with that, the golden arrow pierced Socratos, and brought Lincoln's health bar to zero. All Lincoln could do after that, was simply stare at the screen in shock. _"I… I lost…"_

"I'll admit, you're the first person I've played today that seemed actually competent in this game, not that it mattered at all," with that, he shrugged, before walking away. "One exhibition match, completed. I'm gonna go take a leak now."

" _I… I'll never be able to follow in mom's footsteps…"_ Lincoln clenched his fists in hopes of holding back the tears.

"Lincoln." Allen placed a hand on the young boy's shoulder. No doubt able to tell exactly what was going through his mind. "Throwing a tantrum here is a sure fire way to get barred from the match for and humiliate yourself in front of a butt ton of people."

"I'm fine…" he quickly tried to answer.

Rita shook her head in reply. "After a loss like that, I doubt it."

"Remember Lincoln, eighties wisdom. The battle is two fold. Against character, and player. Defeat one and the other will fall," Allen held his finger up. "That's what my son just did to you."

"What do you mean, and uhh…" The young boy raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Eighties wisdom?"

"It's like ancient wisdom, except for gamers." Allen rubbed the back of his head. "And well, he had you the defensive the whole game and as is the rule, it's always easier to attack than to defend," he looked into the young boy's eyes. "And so when your defenses were broken, it was just a matter of when and how he was going to beat you.

" _I'm a failure…"_ Lincoln looked away. "Thanks…" while thinking. _"I'm a weakling…"_ he quickly forced himself to turn back to the man and keep his composure. "But uhh… if your son's entering the tourney, why are you giving me advice?"

Yet, the man just chuckled. "Remember Lincoln, just because you're an opponent doesn't mean I don't want to see you succeed," he smiled and pushed the boy's head up so he could look into his eyes. "After all, when you get to be as old as I am, you realize that there's always someone better. The only question is, are you gonna tear them down and make them hate you or try to help them be as great as they can be?"

" _Yeah… but after losing like that… can I even be great?"_ Lincoln looked away.

He then took a deep breath. "And remember, this is eighties wisdom because, heh, now that I think of it, the eighties were like ancient times to us gamers," he quickly shook his head. Do not dwell on past mistakes. Even if the girl that got away grew up to be the one you wish you still had."

Rita took a breath and chuckled. "You were always the charmer, but only when there were children present. The moment they were out of view you became something else."

"You should know why. I can't help but try ya know?" Allen stood up, chuckling at the comment as he did so. "You'll be fine Lincoln… And remember, I don't call myself the sage because I never learn my lessons. One slap to the face was enough for me, thanks."

The woman chuckled. "You mean three slaps."

Allen quickly recomposed himself. "For three different reasons! That means I learned three different lessons!" He quickly looked away in embarrassment. "Anyways, do I really need to be told about **my** habits by a woman who apparently spent most of the past twenty years with a bun in the oven?" He glanced at the group of children standing nearby, all of them unsure of how to respond to what they had witnessed.

Rita chuckled in response. "Yeah, like I've never heard that one before."

Allen then glanced at his son, before returning his gaze to Lincoln. "Anyways, Lincoln, from what I saw there you have immense talent. You just have to focus and prepare yourself for what is to come."

Lincoln nodded. _"But is that even enough?"_

"Anyways, I think that's enough gaming for the night," Rita declared. "After a game like that anyone would need a break… or else they might start to tilt."

"Yeah…" Lincoln replied. "Thanks, Sage."

"No problem. Anytime." Allen smiled, before watching the Louds head out of the restaurant and head home for the night.

8-5-25! 1-20 12-5-1-19-20 8-5 4-9-4-14-'20 12-15-19-5 9-14 1 19-9-13-21-12-20-1-14-5-15-21-19 3-8-5-19-19 5-24-8-9-2-9-20-9-15-14!

 **A/N Nobody ever got where they are without a little conflict… or in this case, getting completely owned in an exhibition match. I hope you guys enjoyed! As always, I thank my friends on the TLH discord for helping me out! Until next time guys!**


	5. Lullaby For A Brother

**A/N Man, you guys are really having a fun time chewin' out Rita's parenting skills. Don't worry though, she gets better, starting here! And don't worry about Lynn Sr. his role in this starts becoming clearer here! Also, I thank** **氷** **熊** **(Ink)/Heterow for creating the cover art!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy! R &R!**

Chapter Five: Lullaby for a Brother

 _"I lost… I just… lost,"_ Lincoln's mind repeated, while he rested his head against the cold glass of Vanzilla's windows, his eyes seemingly held up to the nighttime sky. _"I'll admit, you're the first person to seem competent at this game, but it's not enough,"_ soon, the image of the professional gamer and his victorious warrior raising her golden spear filled his mind, causing him to look down in shame once more.

"Lincoln!" Leni grabbed his shoulders and shook him back to reality. "Come on!"

"Huh?" he quickly looked up to his sister, his eyes wide in surprise. "W-what's up?"

Leni's expression softened into one of concern. "Are you ok, Linky?" She tilted her head at him, while her voice filled with a soft care. "You've been quiet ever since we left the mall…"

" _It's just…"_ he quickly shook his head and looked away. "It's nothing… really… it's nothing… where are we?"

"Home lil' bro," Luna cut in. "You've been staring out that window the whole ride back…" she leaned over his chair and placed a soft hand upon his shoulder. "…Are you still thinking about what happened at the mall?"

"No duh Luna!" Lori flared her arms in scolding. "He literally just lost to a pro gamer in the game he's gonna be playing!" she looked down and shook her head. "I'd be more surprised if he wasn't thinking about it."

"Lori, I don't think that's helping," Luan nudged her older sister, taking the chance to motion to Lincoln as she did so. At the point, he simply sat back in his chair, his eyes simply focused on his hands.

"Yeah!" Lana popped up from behind her, glancing up at Lincoln as she did so. Her gaze softening while she spoke with a soft, reassuring voice "He's just having a rough week! I'm sure you're gonna win the tourney! You just gotta believe in yourself!"

"I dunno, I mean, those games are gonna rot his brain if he keeps playing them," Lola spoke up, eliciting angry stares from the rest of her siblings.

"Not the time, Lola," Luna shook her head in disappointment.

"Poo-poo…" Lily followed that up by crawling out of her car seat and grabbing for Lincoln, though he chose to push her away.

"I'm fine girls, really, I am…" his voice trailed off for a moment, before he turned and pushed his way out of the family van. "I just… I just need some time to think is all…" and with that, he walked into his home, leaving the rest of his family to follow soon after.

Rita watched him do so, taking the chance to follow each and every one of his slow, careful steps as he made his way up the patio and through the old wooden door to his home. _"Gaming Rita, really? You want to be a professional gamer?!"_ She shook her head, purging the thought from her mind.

"So, uhh… mom, what's gonna happen now?" Lori spoke up, her voice full of concern.

The woman took a breath. "It's getting late… let's go inside," before she followed Lincoln's example and pushed her way out of the van. _"You have a bright career as a doctor or a dentist or even a vet!"_

"What do you want us to do with what we bought?" Lucy appeared in front of her, though Rita remained unfazed.

"Bring them inside and leave them by the couch. Since tomorrow's the last day we've got before the tournament starts, we're gonna be doing all the last-minute prep that we can… hopefully," she tried to muster up a commanding voice, though only found herself able to speak in a calm tone. "And double time it, it's getting late and I know how irritable you all get when you don't get enough sleep," with a thought soon adding. _"How will you ever support a family with this stuff? Heck what'll you'll children say when they talk about you?! Hey, my mommy plays videogames!"_

"Got it!" Lori gave a small salute, before forcing open the van's side doors and hopping out. "All right everyone! You all know the drill, get to it!"

And with that, Rita watched as her daughters grabbed the bags and carried them inside in a whirlwind of orderly chaos, leaving only her behind outside. _"But dad, I can do this! I won didn't I?! You did, but do you think you can do it again?"_ She shook her head again, before slowly, following her children inside. _"I pushed him too hard…"_

" _I just hope that he's going to be all right…"_ the woman took a soft breath as she stepped into her home… only to find Lincoln standing at the base of the stairs, his gaze fixed on the photos hanging on the all above.

For a moment, he simply stood by, his mind clouded by the countless thoughts that had no doubt bothered him ever since he started training with his mother, no doubt even before then as well.

" _And what will you do if you fail, hmm? This life you're trying to go through has no fallbacks! What if you mess up, what if this never takes off? What will you do then? Nobody likes a moocher,"_ Rita hesitated, her gaze held softly upon her son, while he continued to look up. Thankfully the rest of the siblings had decided to leave him to think, hoping that he would be better later.

Slowly, the woman placed a reassuring hand on her son's shoulder. "Lincoln… are you feeling all right?"

Instantly, Lincoln snapped back to reality. "Huh? Oh… yeah," he looked away and began to make his way up the stairs, his hand slowly gliding over the railing as he did so. "I just… I'm gonna go to bed early, if you don't mind."

Rita chose not to respond, instead watching her son and listening as his bedroom door slammed closed. And with a sigh, looked up towards a certain photo, of an infant dressed in orange clothes and clutching a stuffed bunny. _"I've been pushing him too much… I should've known that trying to show him everything I wish I could've had at his age was a bad idea… now he probably thinks that he'll never win or doesn't even want to try anymore," she shook her head. "Defeat is a harsh teacher…"_

"Uhh… what's goin' on?" Lynn Sr. stuck his head out of the couple's shared bedroom."And why did Lincoln look like he's having an existential crisis?"

The woman let out another breath, before turning to face her husband. "Lynn, the trip to the mall was fine for the most part, but… well, when we went to eat dinner, I convinced Lincoln to face a pro at the game he's going to be playing soon..."

"And he lost badly, huh?" Lynn cut his wife off.

"How did you…" Rita tried to start, only for Lynn to shake his head. "That's just how you look, Rita."

The woman shrugged off the comment and returned to face the stairs. At this point, she could see their daughters slowly stepping out of their rooms and converging at the top of the landing, though they pay no mind to their parents, choosing instead to simply talk amongst themselves over what to do about Lincoln. "Well, you're right, he lost… badly and now I'm not even sure he's gonna want to play…"

"Maybe it was for the best, Rita," Lynn placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "I mean… you of all people know that he's gonna face some tough competition if he decides to compete…"

Rita gave him a small glare, prompting Lynn to hold his hands up defensively. "What? I mean, he's gonna have a tough time and is very unlikely to win.

" _Yeah, and then all that training you're putting yourself through will all be for naught!"_ The thought crossed her mind, causing Rita to look away. "But, you never know if you don't take that first step, Lynn."

"But… what if that first step is too much for him to-" the man tried to counter, only for his wife to turn to him with tear-filled eyes.

"Don't give me that! I know Lincoln has it in him!" She poked in the chest, trying to emphasize her point. "I've seen his skill, I've seen the desire in him! I saw how much joy he felt when we trained and how excited he was to finally see everything I wish I could've had! And, and…" her voice trailed off as her train of thought lost steam.

With a soft sigh, the man wrapped his arms around the woman. "Rita, maybe it's for the best, ok?" He pushed her head up to look him in the eyes. "You know how I feel about these things, Rita. It's a questionable career and…"

"You don't know if it's a good idea," Rita cut him off.

Lynn stood by for a moment, allowing his wife to continue. "That's what my parents said when I told them what I wanted to do," she turned towards the upstairs hallway once more. "That's why I want to be there for him, to push him the way I wish my parents had pushed me and supported me," she let out a breath. "But… I've failed. He thinks he's a failure…"

"Rita…" the man tried to start.

"No mom, he hasn't lost yet!" Lynn Jr. called out, before sliding down the railing and landing in front of her mother.

"How long were you listening?" The woman raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Luna followed soon after that. "Just from the part where you started yelling about why you're pushing Linc so hard."

"I'll admit, even I thought it was excessive what you did," Lori shrugged, while typing away on her phone. "But, I guess it made sense.

Lola then came up after that. "Look, I know I said those games will rot his brains, but… well, Lincoln's helped me so much so it's the least I can do, right? Help him get his confidence back?"

Soon after that, the rest of the girls cheered in agreement.

" _I'm outnumbered…"_ Lynn Sr.'s eyes went wide in surprise, as he turned back to Rita.

"Well, I'm glad you wanna help your brother, but… well, I'm not sure what to do right now…" she shook her head.

"But mom!" Lynn Jr. flared her arms to emphasize her point. "We can't just leave him like that, it's bad luck!"

"And from what the studies I have researched show, this also will not bode well for his overall performance in the coming days," Lisa adjusted her glasses, before turning her notebook to face Rita.

" _A loss is a loss, but Lincoln's tough, I know that…"_ the woman rubbed her chin for a moment, before looking towards her daughters with a begging gaze. "Girls, I don't want you all overwhelming him right after a loss," a soft, commanding air overtook her, while she looked into the eyes of each of her daughters. "Let him sleep the night away and if it's bothering him in the morning, then… we'll figure out what to do from there."

"Are you, like, sure mom?" Leni tilted her head in confusion. "I mean, isn't sleeping while your sad bad for your complexion?"

" _Aren't games going to ruin your looks? I mean staying in doors all day practicing day and night! Aren't you planning on starting a family of your own?"_ Rita stared at her second-oldest daughter in confusion, before rubbing the back of her head and answering. "Well, I, uhh… guess?" she sighed again. "Look, girls, I've been through what Lincoln is right now, and the best remedy for it is time, ok?" She stepped aside and motioned for her daughters to head up the stairs. "Just don't bother him tonight and I'm sure Lincoln will be fine, ok?"

"All right mom…" Lori spoke with a defeated voice, before turning towards her sisters. "Everyone, you heard her, lets get ready for bed. Lights out should be in about thirty."

And soon enough, the rest of the girls followed suit, begrudgingly heading upstairs and into their rooms, leaving Lynn Sr. and Rita standing at the base of the stairs, his arms held limply at his sides.

Another moment of silence passed between the two parents after that, with Rita's mind still abuzz with what had happened, while Lynn Sr. was seemingly awestruck by it all. "Rita…"

She replied with a weary tone. "Yes, Lynn?"

"…Are you sure Lincoln is good at these things? What if his talents lie somewhere else?" He continued, doing his best to put on as soothing a voice as possible. "I mean, This is such a niche topic to have as a talent and-"

"But Lynn, if it's not gaming, then what else could it be? He's tried writing and drawing, he's spent weeks trying new things with Clyde, and still nothing!" Rita stood up straight and looked into her husband's eyes. "We've seen out daughters grow up and from they were young they always showed an interest in something!" pain filled Rita's voice, while soft tears began to fill her eyes. "And yet, after everything that's happened, Lincoln still seems like the odd one out!" She sighed. "Sometimes I wish there was a mark on your butt that just told you what you were good at…"

"I know, honey, I worry about him too." he patted his wife's back. "But, sometimes maybe talents lie somewhere else. I mean it took Luna until she was in the seventh grade to find out that she really loved music!" He paused and leaned in closer, trying to sooth the woman with his voice. "She didn't go out one day and just say she loved doing it and stuff."

And yet, she simply looked away. "I know, I know… it's just, I'm worried for him. Luna was twelve when she found her talent, but all of our other daughters were younger than that when they found their own!" She looked into her husband's eyes. "And I don't want him to be so discouraged that he doesn't wanna try again…"

She let out a deep breath and began to walk away. "I guess I won't know until morning… see you in bed, Lynn…"

And all the man did after that was watch as his wife entered their shared room, leaving him alone to stand in the living room. For a moment, he simply watched her, taking in her exhausted features and worried expression. _"She's never gotten so worked up like this before..."_

Slowly, he found himself moving over to the stairs and beginning to make his way up them. _"I just don't get it… why do these things matter so much to them? They're just toys, aren't they? Those stories she told us… they can't all be true, right?"_ he shook his head. _"Well, whatever the case, from the sound of it, Lincoln needs me."_

When he reached the top of the stairs, he took the chance to check if his daughters were still awake, which from the soft snoring echoing through the hall, was not the case. _"All right Lincoln, here we go."_

He approached his only son's door and knocked, causing a dull sound to resonate through the room. "Hey Lincoln, you still awake? It's dad."

For a moment, he didn't respond.

"Your mother told me what happened… and other stuff," he paused, taking care to choose the right words. "And well… I wanna talk to ya about it."

*Click* the door went, before opening up, revealing the young, white-haired boy. He remained silent while he stepped aside, motioning for his father to come inside. And from what the man could see, there were dried tears on his cheeks.

" _This… isn't healthy for him…"_ the man's gaze softened upon the sight, before he stepped inside and took a seat on the bed, motioning for his son to follow.

And wordlessly, Lincoln did so.

For the next few minutes, the duo simply sat by in silence, with only the dusty moonlight filtering through the rounded linen closet window allowing them to see.

" _I have to help him…"_ Lynn Sr. looked down upon his son, the young boy sporting an expression filled with both confusion and pain. "So… Lincoln, how are you feeling?"

" _Worthless…"_ was the first word that cut across his mind. "I don't know…"

"Oh? Why do you say that?" The man raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Lincoln paused, before shaking his head. "It's nothing… just… ever since I saw this contest, I don't know what, but I've felt like something's been calling me to join in… it's like I'm born to do this!" He looked away from his father. "Heck… I even beat mom and she's an old master! But… when I went up against the guy… It… it felt like I was barely anything…"

"Does it mean this much to you?" Lynn Sr. leaned in closer to his son, doing his best to hear the child's soft words.

"It does…" Lincoln waved him off. "You wouldn't understand… you're not a gamer. You don't even think they're are worth pursuing!"

"I know, I know," he motioned away with his hand. "But I am the father of a few competitive children," the man placed his hands on his son's shoulders and turned the boy to face him. "Sometimes, son… well, maybe it's a good idea to think about other things you're good at."

Lincoln looked up at his father, his eyes filling with a hint of disbelief.

"I mean, this game stuff… I know you've trained with your mother, but… maybe you should take a break and try something else out," He quickly pulled out the cowbell he had tied to belt. "I mean, lets jam! It'll be fun!"

The boy turned away from his father. "That's your thing, dad… You know I'm not really into that stuff."

"Oh, well how about getting some decorative ties? Or maybe cooking, I heard you were good at that!"

"Again, that's what you do," Lincoln glanced at his father with a begging gaze. "I don't know why, but I just feel like this is something I want to do, something unique that's calling me…"

"But Lincoln…" the man tried to counter, though his son, cut him off.

"Dad, I've tried everything else before, but this… this is the first thing that's got me interested, and well, I don't wanna lose it!" He buried his head in his head under his pillow with that.

" _You're your mother's son all right…"_ For a short moment, Lynn Sr. considered caressing his son's head, trying to comfort him, and yet, simply found himself letting out a breath in defeat. "Well son, maybe a break is in order then… I mean, the passed few days have been pretty busy for you…"

"I know, dad…" Lincoln sighed. "I think… I just need some time to let it off… I lost so badly…" he broke his father's gaze and lied down, covering himself in the sheets as he did so.

"Are you sure son?" Lynn Sr. stood up and looked down upon the boy once more. "I mean, I could stick around and, you know… talk to ya. Talking helps your sisters when they're having problems!"

" _I'm not my sisters…"_ the white-haired boy nodded. "Yeah… I'm fine… just, I'll be all right… goodnight dad."

The man nodded and stepped out of the room, but not without looked at his son in concern one more time. _"I wish I could help you more…"_ before closing the door behind him. For a moment, he stood outside his son's room, doing his best to fight the nagging pain welling up in the pit of his stomach. In that moment, he remembered the joy he had felt when seeing his daughters find the hobbies that would soon take over their lives. He remembered helping Luan with her comedy and Luna jam through the night. He remembered playing catch with Lynn, teaching Lana how to repair plumbing and going so far as to read chemistry books to Lisa to help her sleep.

And yet, there he stood, seemingly unable to help his only son get passed what had happened just a few hours prior. _"Maybe Rita was right… she probably had been through this before…"_ he sighed in defeat, before slowly making his way downstairs.

* * *

For the next hour, Lincoln simply lied in his room, his mind filled with countless random thoughts and memories set on repeat. _"I'll never be as good as mom..."_ he tossed and turned. _"She's probably disappointed in me... I should've won that game! But I just let him destroy me!"_

Slowly, he stopped, before finding himself pushing up from the bed, choosing instead to sit with his les dangling over the edge, just like he was when his father was nearby.

He looked out his window, only to cause the memory of the attack that had killed his aspirations to rush to the forefront of his mind once more. _"Judgment's arrow!"_

 _"I... I have to prove myself... but am I even that good?"_ He soon found himself opening the door to his room and peaking through, only to find the upstairs hallway completely deserted, with only the soft snores of his sisters breaking the silence. Carefully, he made his way out of his room and stepped down the stairs. _"I'm not ready, am I?"_

Soon enough, he grabbed the box containing the new equipment Rita had bought for him and opened it up. He quickly slipped on his new set of gaming headphones and wasted no time connecting them to his console. Then, once he was certain he wouldn't disturb anyone with his late-night practice, he booted up the system.

Within moments, he found himself standing before a randomly chosen character- no doubt one of the many he would be facing in the tournament. _"Tier zero right from the start, huh?"_ Lincoln sent his character charging at the cyborg bird.

Immediately, his opponent boosted up to dodge the attack, before sending the bird dive bombing at Lincoln's warrior. Quickly though, Lincoln dodged the attack and sent one of his swords at the creature… or at least he would have. _"Don't miss now!"_ A voice cut through his thoughts as he tried to aim, causing the sword to reel back in in failure. _"Dangit, not again!"_

After that, the bird turned around and engulfed itself in flames, while catching Lincoln's character in a field of green light, freezing him in place. _"No!"_

And with that, Lincoln could only watch as the bird tackled Lincoln's character, bringing his health meter down to zero and a large "game over" to fill the screen, leaving Lincoln sitting by, his body loose from shock. _"I… I lost again…"_ He looked away and closed his eyes. _"I'll… I'll never be able to live up to her…"_

"Hey Lincoln, what're you still doin' up?" A familiar voice greeted, causing the boy to turn to the source: his slightly older sister now dressed in an oversized nightshirt.

"Oh, nothing Lynn. Just, playin' a game, nothing to big…" he looked away, unwilling to look her in the eyes.

The young woman smiled. "Really Linc?" She hopped on the couch next to him. "Why don't you show me what you've got? I mean, you held off mom for two games and did a great job against that master!"

" _Yeah… but I lost…"_ the boy looked away and focused upon the screen. "I… guess I could show you what I'm gonna be working on…"

"Heh, yeah." Lynn chuckled. "There's nothing like a small dose of late-night practice to get you ready for a comp!"

And with that, Lincoln joined queue again.

 _ **Player found!**_

"All right Linc, show me what you've got!" Lynn leaned forward in her chain, eager to see just how well her brother played.

" _Just don't expect much…"_ the boy looked away as the field initialized, allowing an oversized man in a set of torn overall with huge fists to come into view.

"Go Ivaldi's Anvil!" quickly, his character grabbed his axe and jumped up, before slamming down in front of his opponent, bringing with him a burst of ice… that his opponent, a strange ogre made of a red chest and green legs, with a yellow claw and fiery head, easily dodged and countered by grabbing Lincoln's warrior and slamming him into the ground.

Lynn's eyes immediately went wide in surprise. "Whoa… this is some random person on the internet?!"

"Yeah." Lincoln looked away shamefully.

"Come on Lincoln! Kick his arse!" Lynn pointed at the screen.

Lincoln looked at his sister in surprise. "W-what?"

"This is some rando! Prove that you're better than them!" The young woman shouted, pointing at the prompting Lincoln to refocus his gaze on the battle.

In that moment, Lincoln found himself turning back to the screen and commanding his warrior to raise his twin blades. "Storm of the furies…" and with that, his character began to swing the twin blades in a windmill fashion, hoping to break free of his opponent's grip, though this proved fruitless as the opponent simply smashed him into the ground once more, depleting his health and ending the match.

"Well… that happened…" Lynn's body went limp in surprise. "Uhh… what happened there, Lincoln?"

"Nothing…" he looked away in shame.

Lynn responded by wrapping her arm around her brother. "Come on Lincoln, you just lost that badly to some random guy on the Internet," she turned him to face her and spoke with a soft, caring voice. "Something's on your mind."

Lincoln pushed her off, "It's fine… really Lynn, really…"

For a moment, Lynn looked at her brother in concern, before hopping to her feet and grabbing the old controller off the console.

"Uhh… what are you doing, Lynn?" The boy gave his sister a look of confusion.

"You're in a slump because you lost to that master, correct?" Lynn turned back to her brother.

"N-no! That's not it!" The boy quickly defended. _"I'm… just never gonna beat mom…"_

"Well then, prove it to me," she hopped on the couch once more and leaned forward, ready to begin a game. "Beat me in a game then!"

"All right…" Lincoln spoke with a wavering voice, before hitting the buttons required to start a match. Quickly, Lynn chose the first character she saw and the field materialized with them on opposite ends sharing half of the screen each.

 _ **Fight!**_

Lynn immediately began to mash the buttons on her controller, causing Lynn's character- a giant woman with an equally giant cannon- to aim and fire her laser at her opponent.

Quickly, Lincoln's raised his shield, only to send him flying back. _"Dangit! This isn't ending well!"_

"Too slow bro! Come on! You're better at this than me and I'm creaming you!" Lynn taunted.

"R-right!" Lincoln quickly commanded his warrior to draw his twin swords and spin forward, engulfing his body in a tornado of fire, before tackling Lynn's character and drawing his icy axe. "Go, frost giant's strike!" And with that, the axe glowed, before the fiery tornado filled with pure ice and flew at Lynn's character.

Yet, the young woman quickly continued to button mash, allowing her to dodge the assault and counter with a barrage of her own!

" _This isn't going well!"_ Lincoln grit his teeth in frustration, only for his sister to jump over him and take aim, only to send a laser arrow through the character's back, finishing him off.

 **Game over!**

"Lincoln…" the realization quickly dawned upon Lynn. "I didn't-"

"No, it's fine, really." Lincoln looked away shamefully. "It's just… I'm off my game is all, I'll be fine."

The young woman responded by placing a soft hand upon her brother's shoulder. "Lincoln, don't lie to me," she turned him to face her, before looking into his eyes with a motherly determination. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, really," he pushed her off and shook his head. "I'm just-"

"Off your game, right after you aced mom's training and visited a gaming guild." Lynn crossed her arms and shook her head, before refocusing her gaze upon her brother and speaking with a soft, caring voice. "Lincoln, I know you're lying."

"I-I'm-" he tried to respond; yet Lynn stared into his eyes with a begging gaze.

"Lincoln, I've been in your shoes," she placed her hands on his and came closer, taking the chance to look into his eyes. "I know how it feels to lose to someone that you know is better than you, to know that no matter how hard you tried and practiced, you just couldn't be number one!" She paused, taking care to chose her next words. "And I know how it feels to hate yourself for it."

" _But you don't have anyone to compare yourself too here… in this house, you're the only one that plays sports! The only one who can show off! And you can make a name for yourself without having everyone thinking that the only reason you're good is because of mom or dad!"_ Lincoln found himself looking away at the thought, his mind rushing over to the thoughts of his mothers and stories he had heard that night. Soon the image of the young woman utterly crushing a champion the same day she learned the game rushed to the forefront of his mind, with the image of her beating four opponents blindfolded as well following that. He could see her not hesitating the grab the initiative in her games and go for wins in positions everyone thought she was doomed to lose in!

And then, his last thought landed on himself, standing in the shadows behind her. _"Mom was amazing… she was a champion… And me? I could barely even take on a master of the game… Who knows what'll happen when everyone puts two and two together and realizes just who I am?"_

"Lincoln," Lynn wrapped her arms around her brother and pulled him in close, allowing her soft heat to engulf him. "You're still thinking of mom and that master, aren't you?"

"How did you-" Lincoln whispered in her ear.

"Because," she pushed back and looked into his eyes, "I used to do that too when I first started. I always told myself that I could never be as great as the people at the top. I always thought that I didn't have anyone to go to, that I would end up as just another random player that no team would ever want."

"So… how did you get over it?" the boy looked into his older sisters eyes with a wavering gaze.

"Well… for me, dad took me to a baseball game and while I was there, I caught a player's last homerun, since he was retiring after that game. And so after I gave it back to him, I asked how he got over it…" she smiled at him. "And he told me, winners focus on winning, while the losers focus on the winners. If you wanna be the best, don't constantly compare yourself to others, it's unhealthy," she placed her finger on his chest, right above where one would assume his heart to be. "And remember, if you've got a legacy to live up to, don't try to be as good, be better."

"… _I guess that makes sense…"_ for a moment, Lincoln hesitated bout the words, seemingly unsure if to accept the advice.

"And remember, Lincoln, the most important thing to have is determination, because with it you can change the future," Without even waiting for his response, Lynn simply let go of her brother and grabbed the player two controller. "I know what I said about games, but if you're good at them bro, and want to get better, then I'm going to help you in any way I can, now show me what you can do!"

With shaking hands, Lincoln grabbed the player one controller. "A-all right Lynn! Here I come!"

Quickly, Lincoln commanded his character to bolt at Lynn's, wasting no time slicing off the laser cannon that had dispatched of him previously, from Lynn's arms.

"Nice trick bro!" Lynn smiled, before continuing to mash the buttons. "But I'm not gonna stop fighting that easily! I got a reputation to keep up!" She commanded her character to rush forward, trying to run Lincoln's character into the wall, yet Lincoln quickly pulled out the ice axe and jumped up.

" _I- I can win! I can beat her!"_ He grit his teeth, before the announcer shouted. "Ivaldi's hammer! Before crashing the axe down with a cloud of ice, engulfing the duo in cold mist. And when the dust settled, Lynn's HP bar was empty, with Lincoln's still at full.

"You did it Lincoln," Lynn affectionately rubbed her brother's head. "See, I knew you could! Now if you want, I can tell you about the other qualities that make a great player."

" _I… can…"_ Lincoln smiled softly. "Thanks Lynn… and what are they?"

"No problem," she chuckled, before refocusing her attention to the screen. "As for the qualities, they're Determination, patience, integrity, perseverance, kindness and justice, but I'll talk about the others later."

"All right then, Lynn, all right," Lincoln took a breath. _"Mom and Lynn both think I can do it… so do others, right? But… should I really stop comparing myself to her?"_

She tapped away at her controller "And remember, in games you've got mercy and attack to work with. Show no mercy because your opponents won't as well! And attack, attack, attack!"

Lincoln gulped. "All right!" before starting up the game again. _"But does that count when your mother is as big as Rita used to be? I mean, I have to defend, right?"_

"Hah!" Lynn leaned in closely in interest. "I almost got you!"

"Heh, not quite," Lincoln countered, quickly jumping around Lynn's character, and striking her in the back.

And with that, they continued playing through the night.

20-8-5 16-15-23-5-18 15-6 4-5-20-5-18-13-9-14-1-20-9-15-14 23-9-12-12 6-18-5-5 1-12-12 20-8-5 13-15-14-19-20-5-18-19!

 **A/N I hope you guys enjoyed! As always, I thank my friends on the writer's discord and Sesquipedalian Numeral for beta reading!**

 **Guest Reviews (C4):**

 **Shiningvoice53: Yep! You got it!**

 **Guest 1: I've never seen that series, but I'm glad you enjoy it!**

 **Guest 2: I wonder if you got this chapter's reference!**


	6. Calm Before The Storm

**A/N Man, I almost forgot how hard it is to write when you've gotta go to class. It didn't help that I had several multi-hour chess sessions on my editing days. But, I managed and here it is! The next chapter for this fic!**

 **R &R!**

Chapter Six: Calm Before The Storm

Hours later, the sun rose once more over the sleepy town of Royal Woods, it's soft rays finding their way into every home they could and eventually falling upon a certain white haired boy.

"Huh?" Slowly, Lincoln opened his eyes… only to immediately shut them and raise his hand, doing his best to block out the sun's harsh rays. _"Morning already?"_ It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but when they do, he lowers his hand, and tries to sit up… only to realize that he was slightly stuck.

" _What the…"_ though difficult, he slowly turned his head and found his sister Lynn using his head as a pillow. _"Where are we?"_ after that, Lincoln turned once more, allowing the living room TV to come into view, its screen projecting the words "Game Over" in big, red letters.

That's when the realization hit him. _"Oh… right… I stayed up playing videogames with Lynn…"_ he paused, his mind rushing back to the night before, back to how he had gone up against a gaming master and lost. _"And then Lynn decided to tell me about the seven virtues… patience, bravery, integrity, perseverance, kindness, justice and determination…"_

Slowly, he lifted up his sister's head, allowing him to slip out from under her. _"But I lost…"_ he carefully lower Lynn's head onto the couch and hopped to his feet. He hesitated for a moment, considering trying to stir the young athlete from her slumber, though eventually just shook his head. _"No, bad idea… she stayed up all night helping you out, the least you could do is let her sleep."_

With that in mind, he stretched and yawned, before turning the TV off and making his way over to the stairs. _"I wonder if anyone's awake yet,"_ the boy took a breath and closed his eyes, listening for the telltale signs of his sisters awakening from their slumber, though none filled his ears. _"I guess everyone's sleeping in today…"_

After that, he shuffled into the kitchen with that, half-expecting his father to be standing in front of the stove cooking up the family's breakfast, only instead to find his mother doing the job instead. "Hey mom, what's goin' on?"

The woman continued to clean the dishes and tools she would soon use. "Oh nothing, Lincoln. Just getting things ready for today is all.

"Doesn't dad usually cook breakfast? Lincoln walked over and took his seat at the dining table.

"Yes," Rita placed a small pan on the stove, before pouring some cooking oil into it and turning on the flame. "But, I decided to give him the day off since it's the big day tomorrow," she turned to face him, before grabbing an egg and tapping it on the side of the pan, causing the yolk to fall out. "I need to make sure that you eat well. You wouldn't believe how many games masters lose just because their hunger or some other issue comes to bite them in the butt!"

"I guess that makes sense," Lincoln hesitated for a moment, before taking a breath and turning back to his mother. "Mom… about yesterday…"

Yet, Rita simply held up her hand. "There's nothing to say about that," she focused her gaze upon the task at hand and spoke with a soft, motherly voice "Lincoln… I'm sorry that I've been pushing you so hard. It's just… I wanna make sure that you get the head start that you deserve, ya know?"

"Head start?" Lincoln raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"It's nothing…" she shook her head, and turned to her son with a relieved smile. "At Least Lynn helped you last night, didn't she?"

Once more, his mind rushed back to the previous night, back to how Lynn had challenged him to countless matches and forced him to stay on his toes. Why, if it wasn't for her inaccurate movements and obvious button mashing, he could've mistaken her for a master as well! And after all was said and done, she taught him a valuable lesson. _"Don't compare yourself to others, because if you do, you won't get anywhere."_

"Lincoln?" Rita spoke up, cutting off his train of thought.

And yet, Lincoln simply smiled and nodded. "Yeah mom, she did… she really did."

"That's great," the woman breathed a sigh in relief. "Anyways, today's the last day before the tournament, and well, it's the most critical to your success."

" _Well… I may not be able to live up to you, or even beat a master at the game… but I guess I can do my best, right?"_ he hesitated. _"Just don't compare yourself to her…"_

"So Lincoln, what would you like to do today?" The woman turned and scooped the cooked egg out of the pan, before presenting it to her son. "We can go to the arcade, the guild or somewhere else."

"What else do we need to practice?" the boy tilted his head in curiosity.

The woman smiles with that. "No practice today."

The young boy's eyes went wide in surprise. "A-are you sure mom? I mean, the tourney is tomorrow and I have less than a week of-"

Yet, his mother simply raised her hand. "Don't worry Lincoln, really there's no need," she smiled and looked into his eyes. "My coach always told me 'when you're preparing for anything in life, the most important thing you can do is sharpen the saw'."

"Uhh… two things," Lincoln tilted his head in confusion. "Your coach and what's that mean?"

"Remember Lincoln, even pros need someone to help them train. That's what my coach did and what I've been doing for you these past few days," she ran her hand through his short, white hair. "And as for 'sharpening the saw', it means that, after you've done a lot of training, there's no point in trying to cram more in. Instead, just have some fun. After all, constantly being serious isn't good for your mental health."

For a moment after that, Lincoln simply sat back in his chair, seemingly unsure of just what to think. After less than a week of intensive training and networking, his mother was simply telling him to have fun? Why, it was almost impossible to believe! "R-really? Just a normal day? No tricks or crazy plan?"

Rita couldn't help, but chuckle at her son's reaction. "I know right? I reacted the same way when my coach first suggested it. But, you wouldn't believe how important it is. Now come on…" the woman grabbed another egg and cracked it open. "Now, what do you wanna do today?"

The boy thought about it for a moment, rubbing his chin as he did so. _"Well, we've visited the guild and trained at Litwak's…"_ he shrugged. "Well then, uhh… how about the arcade then?"

"You know you don't have to visit the arcade, right?" The woman raised an eyebrow and glanced back at her son. "I mean, it's option, but… are you sure?"

"Yeah," Lincoln shrugged. "I mean, it couldn't hurt much, could it?"

" _Unless something happens again…"_ Rita thought, before forcing a chuckle. "Can't get away from games, huh? When I was your age I always ended just taking breaks at the arcade too," she grabbed a cup and filled it with coffee while taking another and filling it with orange juice. "All right then, I'll take you go to the arcade, under the condition that you don't play the game we've been practicing or games similar, ok?"

"I think I can live with that." Lincoln rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks mom… for everything…"

"No problem son," she waved him off. "Really, it's nothing. Now how about you go eat your breakfast before it gets cold and crowded," she paused. "By the way, would you like the girls to come with us?"

A shudder rushed up Lincoln's spine, bringing him back to the night prior once more. _"They all watched me lose to that master… they probably think I'm gonna embarrass myself again or something…"_

"Even if you fail or struggle, it's always easier when you have family standing behind you, ready to help you back onto your feet," the woman continued. _"Because when you're on your own, it's hard to find a reason to stand back up,"_ she quickly shook her head, stopping her mind from wandering onto another repressed memory. "So what do you wanna do?"

With a sigh, he gave a small nod. "Sure I guess, let's bring them along again, if they want to go."

"All right then, nothing too serious, nothing too serious," she paused again, considering her next question for just a short moment, before turning back to her son. At this point, Lincoln was slowly mustering up the desire to eat his breakfast, no doubt his mind still clouded by the events of the previous night. "Lincoln, how are you feeling?"

"Huh?" The boy looked up at his mother, confusion filling his expression.

His mother continued. "About last night, you know, about the arcade and stuff."

"Oh, that," he let out a breath, before looking up at his mother with a begging gaze. "I'm feeling better about it all. Lynn really helped me last night and stuff…" though he couldn't help, but think. _"Don't compare myself to that master, because I'm not him… I have the skill, Lynn showed me that last night…"_

And with that, Rita smiled. "Good. Just remember Lincoln, you can't win them all," she stood up and walked over to the base of the stairs. "And a loss may be a loss, but you can benefit if you learn from it," she raised her hand to her mouth. "Girls! Breakfast!

 _ **A Few Hours Later…**_

"Here we are, one more day at the arcade before the big tournament," Rita pushed her way through the double doors, allowing the small store to come into view. Unlike Litwak's arcade, the Royal Woods Gaming center was much smaller, with only a few games standing around a small gaming floor, while adjacent to it was a small food court with a cash register left at its head. "Heh, nothing ever changes around here.

"Well, if things did change a lot, then it wouldn't be the same arcade, now would it?" Lincoln added, before turning to face his sisters. "So, uhh, are you guys gonna play games too or are you all gonna do stuff around here?"

"The first one of course," Lori stepped out of the crowd of girls and rubbed her little brother's head. "After all, we all know what it's like to lose badly and need our siblings to pick us back up."

"Plus, there's only so much we can do around dad's office," Luna shrugged, before shrugged and walking over to the gaming floor. "I'll be seein' ya on 'Banjo Warrior', bro!"

"Yeah, and I'll be at the hoops," Lynn pounded her hand into her fist, cracking them both as she did so. "The last time we came here I found out that they're giving away a limited edition basketball for a thousand tickets and I wanna get it!" she raised her thumb to her brother. "Be there if you wanna help me out.

Lincoln nodded in understanding. "All right guys."

And after that, the rest of the girls voiced their own desires for the day, before heading off, leaving Lincoln standing by the entrance with his mother and oldest sister.

For a moment, they simply stood in silence, all of them unsure of what to say next, though of course, they both know what would be coming. "All right Lincoln, go have fun today, ok?"

With a deep breath, Lincoln steeled his nerves. "All right mom, all right," he began to step forward. _"Just have fun today. We've been practicing really hard lately and it's easy to forget that games are meant to have fun with when you're treating them seriously."_ He then looked up. _"And the girls are here to help me too."_

"And remember, don't play the game for the tourney tomorrow, ok? You don't wanna cause unneeded stress on yourself!" Rita quickly added, before walking over to one of the empty tables and taking a seat.

" _Understood,"_ and with that thought in mind, Lincoln walked over to the gaming floor as well.

"And remember Lincoln! Have fun!" Lori quickly added, her voice filling with relief, only for her to let out a deep breath. "Mom?"

"Yes dear?" Rita turned to her oldest daughter. "What is it?"

Lori hesitated for a moment, unsure if to even ask her question, and yet, despite everything that had happened the passed few days, she simply breathed in. "Mom, are you sure it was a good idea to bring him here?" She rubbed the back of her head. "I mean, he just lost a big game to a master, I don't think he's really in the gaming mindset and stuff…"

In response, Rita paused, taking the chance to choose her words carefully. "Lori… when it comes to competitions, sometimes you just can't take a break," she looked into her daughter's worried gaze with begging eyes of her own "I know Lincoln wasn't taking that loss well, but if he hopes to stand a chance tomorrow, he has to get his spirits back up. And who better to that than you girls?" Though she couldn't help, but add. _"And… it's my chance to give him something I didn't have…"_

"But mom… are you sure it's a good idea for him to even enter it? I mean… it's not gonna be good for him or his self-esteem if he loses…" The young woman's voice filled with concern. "You can't tell me you haven't noticed how strangely he's been acting ever since we found out about your past!"."

Once more, the woman hesitated her answer. Ever since she started talking about what she had done, she had noticed Lincoln act quietly. At first, she had chalked it up to amazement over having a mother so famous, and yet, now… maybe it was for a different reason.

"I know he can win, but to do so… he needs this. He needs to feel like he has a chance." She looked away and towards the young boy in her midst, the child taking hold of the controls to a simple racing game with Lana hopping in the seat next to him. "That's why I'm counting on you girls to remind him how much fun video games are to him, and put up a fight for him," while she thinks. _"Because he's more talented than he knows, and he'll be able to go further than I ever was because he has a family that loves him."_

Lori looked up at her mother in confusion for a moment, before shrugging off the idea of confronting her about it. "All right then… I guess I'll just see if there are any games we could play then…"

"Thank you Lori," Rita took a breath in relief. "And could you make sure your siblings stay out of trouble? I don't know the owner of this one."

Immediately, the young woman turned to her mother and looked on in confusion. "I thought you would come to the arcade all the time to practice?"

"I would," she shrugged. "But this one didn't open until after Lincoln was born," though she can't help, but think. _"Coincidence? I think not!"_

"Oh I see," Lori turned around and looked at her brother. "Well then… I'll get to work mom."

"Thank you," the woman sighed. And with that, Lori walked off into the arcade.

* * *

"All right Lincoln! I'm gonna come for ya!" Lana cheerfully shouted, leaning forward as she did so.

"You wish!" Lincoln chuckled, taking the chance to turn his wheel slightly while slamming the pedals, forcing his car to drift for a moment, before snapping back on course, with Lana's car soon crashing into the turn he had eased passed.

"Man Lincoln! You're amazing at this!" Lana's voice filled with awe, while she turned and backed up, freeing herself from the ditch, before slamming on the pedals again, trying to desperately catch up to her brother.

" _Yeah… I'm great at videogames. But there's no point if I can't even win against someone who I'm supposed to be at least equal to…"_ Lincoln remained silent for a moment, his mind slowly beginning to fill with thoughts once more. _"Yeah… but Lynn's right, isn't she? I shouldn't give up… but what's the point of trying to continue? Persevere passed all obstacles…"_

"Lincoln!" Lana shouted as her car slammed into her brother's from behind. "What gives?!"

Instantly, the boy snapped back to reality. "Huh? What?"

"I've caught up!" Lana quickly boosted forward, overtaking her brother. "Haha!"

" _I have to win!"_ the thought instantly cut across Lincoln's confused thoughts, with his body soon responding by slamming his feet against the pedals once more. Flames erupted from the tailpipe of his in-game car, causing it to boost forward. _"I can't lose! I can't lose!"_ immediately after that, Lincoln's car overtook Lana's, before crossing the finish line, signaling that he had won.

"Wow!" Lana turned to his brother in surprise, while Lily simply looked at him in awe. "I can't believe you did that!"

" _I… I won,"_ Lincoln soon snapped back to reality. "Huh… I guess I just needed a good push."

"Let's go again!" The young girl flared her arms in excitement.

* * *

"All right Lincoln, you ready for this?" Lynn held up the single token they would need to use to get the basketball game going.

"Lynn, I'm good at videogames… I don't think I can help you much with a basketball-" the white-haired boy tried to counter, only for his sister to wave him off.

"Nah! I'm sure you'll be great!" She said, grabbing one of the basketballs as she did so. "This is just like a videogame! Besides," she turned and put her finger on his chest. "I played games with you last night, so why don't you do this one for me?"

" _Because I'd rather not get creamed…"_ he took breath and shrugged. "Fine Lynn, fine, I'll play a game with you."

"Good," she flicked the coin in the air, before grabbing it and shoving it in the machine. "Then let's go."

Instantly, the device whirred to life and ejected the first of the balls. "Now remember Lincoln, keep up! I want as many tickets s I can get from this thing!"

Lincoln nodded. "All right Lynn, all right!" he too shoved a token in and grabbed the first ball. _"Just like a video game, just like a video game… you can do this Lincoln, you can do this… I've gotta be determined to win if I wanna get anywhere!"_

 **Begin!**

And with that, the duo began to throw the balls into the hoop, quickly racking up all the points they could within the five minutes they had to do so. And by the end of it, Lynn, of course, finished with just a few more points than Lincoln, though not too many.

"Heh, I guess you were right, Lynn," Lincoln chuckled. "This was like a videogame."

The young woman responded by grabbing their tickets. "Yeah, it was. Now I gotta go use these tickets to get some prizes!"

And she ran off with that.

" _Maybe I'm all right… even after losing so badly…"_ Lincoln looked up at Lynn, watching his older sister rush off to find the vendor to give her the prize she so desired. _"And maybe, just maybe… she's right…"_

* * *

"Heh, have you been practicing, bro?" Luna chuckled as she grabbed one of the two banjo controllers posted for the next players to use.

" _Don't lie to her…"_ the thought crossed his mind. After all, it'd be easy to lie and say he just practiced it, though he new there was no point. _"A gamer has to have integrity,"_ and so he responded. "This game? No." Lincoln grabbed the other and threw the strap over himself. "But… given how I've been practicing a lot of games, I think I might be able to handle this."

"We'll see about that, lil' bro," she quickly shoved a token in with Lincoln doing the same. "Can you play 'through the fire and the flames'?"

"By Dragon Force?" Lincoln raised an eyebrow.

"You know it," Luna chuckled. "It's the hardest song on the queue."

For a moment, Lincoln hesitated, before simply smiling. "Lets do it." He quickly selected the song and the game roared to life.

Immediately, a line of greens, blues, oranges, reds and yellows rushed down the music board, with Lincoln and Luna's hands swiftly rushing along the banjo's buttons to hit them.

And eventually ending with **"We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days. Thought the fire and the flames we carry on!"**

"Heh… heh…" Lincoln panted, wiping the sweat from his brow as he did so. "Man, that was crazy."

Luna shrugged, her soft, caring gaze unblemished by the same sweat Lincoln felt. "Sometimes music's like that bro," she rubbed his head. "You did great though."

" _But was it champion level?"_ Lincoln mentally counters, before returning the controller to its resting place. "All right Luna, all right. Thanks."

* * *

"Come on Linky! Please!" Lola pulled her older brother over to a nearby machine decorated with random stuffed animals with the same filling its container. "I want one so badly!"

For a moment, Lincoln hesitated, before taking a breath and grabbing a token. "Fine Lola, I'll win one for you."

"Eee!" Lola squealed, before throwing her arms around her older brother. "Thank you so much! Thank you!"

Lincoln chuckled in response, before walking over and inserting the coin. The machine whirled to life, while Lincoln closed his eyes. _"Be the crane Lincoln. You have to let the controller be an extension of yourself! And remember, patience is a virtue that will win you games, and never forget to be kind to people, because you may inspire them to be better themselves."_

And soon enough, the machine complied with every command the young boy would give it, before dropping the prize that Lola so sought: a pretty pink teddy bear.

"You're the best big brother ever!" Lola cheered, quickly pulling him into a soft hug, and prompting Lincoln to reply with the same.

" _At least to the girls, I'm the best ever, right? I can do this… I just gotta keep going."_

* * *

"So… you wanna see how long I survive in a survival-horror game?" Lincoln raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Lucy nodded and shivered, her voice going low. "Yes, my record is five minutes before it was able to finally get me…"

The boy crossed his arms. "What got you to finally quit the game, if you don't mind me asking?"

"The clown…" the young girl she shook her head and lowered her head in shame. "It was too much for me…"

" _Don't laugh at it, don't laugh at it."_ Lincoln smiled and took the helmet from his sister. "Sure, I'll take a shot at it," before he slipped the device on, allowing the game to begin.

" _I've just gotta be brave. When playing against masters I've gotta trust myself and fight!"_ Quickly, he found himself walking into a strange, abandoned mansion with cobwebs and shadows lurking around every corner. Carefully he made his way through, all the way until he reached the back door. _"Looks like I'm in the clear."_

Only for him open the door, revealing a clown carrying a small, red balloon. "Hello there child. I'm Nickelsmart."

Lincoln stood by in a shocked silence for a moment, before quickly taking off his helmet. "Nope." He shoved the device back into Lucy's hands before walking away. "Nope! Nope! Nope! I am not gonna even try that, nope!"

The Goth girl chuckled for a moment, before putting the helmet on as well. "I'm absolutely terrified."

* * *

"Heh, well I've played a game with most of my sisters today." Lincoln chuckled, before walking over to the controller of an FPS game. "I guess it's time I play by myself…" He took out a coin and flipped it in the air, before carefully aiming the plastic rifle. _"Just align it with the crosshairs first…"_

"Hi there!" a voice called out.

"Huh?" Lincoln turned to the source: a young boy dressed in a shirt titled: "Call of War: Modern Battle 3," he gave a small smile and wave. "Oh, hiya, what's up?"

"I'm in town for a gaming tourney in a few days, mind if I play against you?" the boy smiled at Lincoln, silently urging him to accept the offer.

For a moment, Lincoln remained silent, seemingly unsure if he should accept. _"Do it…"_ he could swear he heard a voice call. _"Prove yourself! You'll never be able to beat your mother if you can't win against everyone you meet!"_

"Do it Lincoln," Rita walked over to her son and smiled. "After all, even if you're not playing in this game tomorrow, and it always helps to get practice in every little thing you can, you know?"

Lincoln nodded in understanding, before motioning for the boy to join the console. "All right, I'll play ya."

The boy smiled, before pulling out a token as well and grabbing the other plastic rifle. "Ok then! A normal match, ok?"

"Score limit of ten then?" the white-haired boy raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

His opponent nodded. "Yeah."

And with that, the Louds came behind the duo, eagerly watching what Lincoln would do next.

 **Begin**!

"All right, here I-"the young boy tried to start…

Only for Lincoln to run up from behind and drive a knife into his opponent's chest, ending that life and causing the counter to start recording.

"One," Lincoln whispered, his eyes slowly widening in response.

"What the… how?" his opponent looked at Lincoln in shock for a moment, before refocusing his gaze upon the screen. "Lucky shot, I'll just-" he hit the respawn button… Only for a loud "crack!" to echo through the speakers.

"Two," the white-haired boy coldly whispered, suddenly, his gaze focused on the screen ahead, while his mind cleared itself of all thought.

"But-" He tried to speak up, only for a trap to rip him to shreds.

"Three."

"I'm trying to-" The next death screen came from a grenade exploding next to him.

"Four."

"Practice for my game-" he tried to speak up, though his opponent wouldn't relent.

Lincoln quickly jumped in the air, spun round with sniper rifle and fired, ending another life for his opponent. "Five."

"This really isn't helping me…" the boy's voice filled with despair. At this point he was barely able to walk ten steps before Lincoln pulled out his pistol and put three bullets in him: two in the chest and one to the head for good measure.

"Six," he whispered. And for the next two minutes after that, Lincoln quickly dispatched his opponent in every way his limited arsenal would allow.

"Nine," Lincoln quickly checked his reserves. _"Dangit… out of ammo!"_ He immediately dropped his rifle and pistol, before rushing over to a nearby wall. _"If I remember correctly, there was an Easter egg weapon here…"_

His opponent immediately burst through the door. "There you are! And no more guns or knives to-"

Yet, before he could even finish his sentence Lincoln grabbed an axe off the wall and flung it at his opponent, causing the blade to crash into the character's skull, ending the match 10-0 in Lincoln's favor.

"H-how?!" the boy stood by in shock. "I… I've been practicing for months!" he turned to Lincoln. "A-are you gonna be in that tourney?!"

For a moment, the white haired boy remained silent, his mind still focused on the game before him. Though he quickly snapped out of it and shook his head. "No… but I have been training for a tournament lately.

The boy remained awestruck for a moment. "I-I see… and you're one of the people not entering…"

Lincoln took a soft breath and nodded. "Yeah… just imagine those who are coming in tomorrow…"

"T-that… that's fine…" the boy hesitated for a moment, before turning and beginning to walk away, leaving the Louds to turn to Lincoln in shock.

"W-wow…" Lynn stammered. "I've beaten my rivals badly but… did you have to just cream some random kid like that?"

Slowly, Lincoln regained his senses and placed his hand on his head in surprise. "What just happened?"

"You just destroyed some kid at an FPS game," Lori spoke with concern filling her voice.

"Sisters, I believe that Lincoln just came out of a selective trance," Lisa stepped forward from the crowd. "He was so enthralled by the game in front of him that he didn't stop to consider the repercussions of what his victory- especially as easy as that was- would have."

"Dude… that wasn't cool." Luna shook her head. "You were in a slump because some master destroyed you! And you just creamed some kid because he wanted a game!"

"Girls," Rita cut through the random chatter her daughters were beginning to fill the air with. "That's not important," she sighed. "When it comes to games, sometimes it's better to learn from a terrible defeat than anything else." She looked down upon her son, before taking a soft breath. "Lincoln… would you mind taking the long way home with me?"

" _I messed up_ he looked away. "Sure…"

"Good," The woman stood up straight and threw the car keys at Lori, who easily caught them. "Take the girls home, I need some time with Lincoln."

"All right, mom," Lori nodded, before walking away and motioning for her sisters to follow. "Come on guys, dream boat's gonna be on tonight."

The girls immediately looked at each other, before rushing out of the arcade, leaving Lincoln and Rita alone.

"Mom… about that…" Lincoln rubbed the back of his head.

"Lincoln…" she motioned for him to follow. "Come on. We've got some walking to do."

And the boy sighed in response, before following his mother out of the store.

* * *

For the next few moments, the duo simply moved along the short, seemingly winding roads of their quiet town. Ahead, they could see the twilight filling the sky with its vast arrays of purples and blues and oranges and reds, a stark contrast to the dimly lit store that was the arcade.

"So… mom…" Lincoln rubbed the back of his head in seeming embarrassment. "Uhh… what's up?"

The woman breathed a soft sigh. "Lincoln, how are you feeling?"

"All right I guess?" he looked away and shrugged, before looking down at the ground his mind clouding up with the thoughts of the games he had played that day. "…Do you think I was too hard on him?"

"On the boy you played against?" Rita looked down upon her son and shook her head. "Not at all. Really, I see every game as a learning experience, and sometimes you're gonna get an arse handed to you if you play enough."

" _Because there's always someone better, right? But was that right for me to do? Did I do him justice?"_ the boy looked away. _"I was too hard on him… I should've forced myself to hold back or something…"_

His mother placed her hand on his shoulder. "Lincoln… do you enjoy playing videogames?"

For a moment, Lincoln hesitated, tapping his fingers as he did so. "Well… I really have enjoyed them, mom, but ever since we started training, well… I've just been feeling stressed out…"

"And you running that kid over in a match was that coming out, huh?" she shook her head and spoke with a motherly tone. "Lincoln, I know there's more to it than that."

"What do you mean?" he looked up at his mother in confusion, though he couldn't help, but think. _"Does she… know what I'm feeling?"_

"Lincoln… did I tell you why I never mentioned being a pro-gamer before?" she stopped and squatted down to her son's height, taking the chance to look him in the eyes as she did so.

"No… we just all assumed you worked as a dentist's assistant and stuff…" the boy rubbed the back of his head in uncertainty.

The woman took a deep breath with that. "Lincoln, I never mentioned it because I was worried that one of you would wanna try and live up to me, but… I decided that maybe it was time to mention it because you showed interest in the topic…"

" _D-does she know though?"_ Lincoln looked away, his mind beginning to fill with everything they had done over the past few days. _"How everyone sees her?"_

"Lincoln, I know that something's going on with you," she shook her head. "It took until your loss against that master for me to notice, but I have, and I wanna know, what's going on with you?" she stood up straight with that.

"Nothing, really mom, nothing," he held up his hand with that and waved her off. "Really, it's just… nervousness is all."

"Are you nervous you're not gonna win?" Rita raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Not really… I mean… it's a game and I'm…" he sighed in defeat. "Yeah… I'm nervous. I've only had less than a week of training! And well… I'm worried I'll never be able to live up to you…"

For a moment, Rita simply remained silent, the realization slowly filling her mind. "Lincoln, believe it or not, I know how you feel."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

The woman nodded and placed her hands upon his shoulders. "When I first started, I didn't have a name to live up to, I know. But I had the greatest people to live up to. I was told that I would never be able to win against them, and yet I did." She placed her hand on his chest. "And I know you will be able to as well."

"But how? I've already lost to one of my opponents!" Lincoln leaned in closely, flaring his arms as he did so.

"How?" she chuckled. "Because you're a Loud." She stood up straight with that, before stepping forward. "I know you can win Lincoln. I have hope in you."

"But what if I fail?" He followed his mother and spoke with a defeated tone. "What if I get eliminated in the first round?"

"Lincoln, the only way that'll happen is if you're nervous," she smiled at him. "Trust me, if you want to live up to what I've done, don't focus on what I did. Build your own path and you'll easy surpass anything I've done."

"Really?" suddenly, Lincoln could feel stars filling his eyes. "You think I can do what you did?"

"Think?" The woman nodded and chuckled. "I know you can," she motioned for him to follow. "Now come on, we've got a walk to finish."

And so they continued onwards, with Lincoln looking up, towards the setting sun. _"Make my own path… and then I can overcome my mom?_ " his gaze softened, his thoughts racing over to the countless stories that his mother's friends had told him. How she had broken her arm before a competition and won it single-handedly. How she was once dared to play a whole tournament blindfolded and she did so, destroying a regional champion. And how she had practiced tirelessly in hopes of becoming the best.

And yet, he found himself on the twilight before his first tourney with less than a week's worth of experience! Why, it's almost like he was being set up to lose. _"But… mom trusts me to win. It's like she knows I'm ready even though I don't think I am…"_ He looked up towards his mother, her soft, caring smile filling him with a soft hope. _"If she was able to get passed everything holding her back… then I'm sure I'll be able to too…"_

"Remember Lincoln." Rita spoke up as she looked into her son's eyes.

"Yeah mom?" he tilted his head in curiosity.

"You're a Loud, that means that there's more to you than meets the eye," she finished. "Good luck tomorrow Lincoln," she chuckled. "Though I know, you don't need it."

"All right mom… all right," he responded. "By the way… will my friends still be able to play with me?"

"Course, they'll improve as you do too," Rita smiled. "It's the thing about competition, you also improve others as you improve yourself… though promise to go easy on your sisters, ok?"

Lincoln nodded. "All right mom, thanks, for everything.

And with that, they walked onto the front porch of their home and headed inside and that night, they made the final preparations.

20-8-5 3-1-12-13 9-19 15-22-5-18. 20-8-5 13-1-20-3-8 23-9-12-12 19-20-1-18-20 19-15-15-14.

 **A/N As always, I thank my friends who helped me out with this fic! Only a few more chapters remain! As always, feel free to PM me or join the TLH discord servers!**

 **Guest Reviews (C5):**

 **Guest 1: Who?**

 **Max: Awesome! I forgot what the MLP reference was I'll be honest.**

 **Shiningvoice53 and Guest 2: Correct!**


	7. Opening Theory

**A/N All right, here we go! The beginning of the end is upon us! Man, I didn't expect people to enjoy this style of writing so much. I'm so used to just writing and making stuff as I go along that actually planning this and writing in its entirety before posting was a challenge. I hope you guys enjoy! Props if you guys get what the title's a reference to!**

 **R &R!**

Chapter Seven: Opening Theory

And now, after all was said and done, Lincoln stood in his room, his mind clouded by the events of the passed few days, and the anticipation for the morning to come filling his veins.

" _You're a Loud, and there's more to you than meets the eye,"_ his mothers words echoed. _"Good luck, Lincoln. Though I know you won't need it."_

Slowly, the young boy grabbed his controller off of his dresser and gripped its handles. "Now that I think of it… I did always find it comfortable to hold a controller in my hands…"

"Nervous for tomorrow, Lincoln?" A familiar voice greeted, causing Lincoln to turn towards the source: a certain 13-year-old girl resting on the linen closet's doorframe. "Then again…"

Yet, Lincoln simply waved his older sister off. "Nah, I'm fine," he continued to mess with the controller, seemingly checking to make sure that he still had the muscle memory he had trained to have during his training. "Just making sure I'm ready for tomorrow… you can't be too careful, right?" His voice wavered against his sister, easily exposing the truth.

And so, Lynn shook her head. "Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln," she looked into her brother's eyes. "You know you can't lie to me that easily, she tugged on him slightly, prompting him to take a seat next to on his bed. "Now, come on, 'fess up, are you scared?"

For a moment, Lincoln hesitated his response, considering the idea of trying to lie to his sister again, though after receiving a glance from her caring gaze, dispelled the idea and just sighed. "Well… I guess… I am a bit nervous…" he immediately snapped back in defense. "But I'll be fine! I'm ready, right? It's just my first time playing a tournament this big and stuff! I'm gonna do well, right?"

Suddenly, Lincoln found himself pulling himself in closer, shrinking into his spot of the bed. "What if I lose? I've come such a long way and what if I just blunder games? What if… what if I lose? Does that mean I'll never be able to go as far as mom did? Will I just stay a weakling compared to her? Will I… will I-"

Yet, before he could continue his panicked train of thought, Lynn wrapped her arms around him and shook her head. "Lincoln, you're thinking too hard."

"W-what?" the boy snapped back in surprise.

Slowly, the young woman pushed him away and looked into his eyes. "We all had these feelings when we first started out. Heck, my first soccer game, I was so worried that I would miss the kicks that I ended up overcompensating and landed face-first in a pile of mud!" She poked his chest. "Lincoln, you're 'the man with that plan' and you've proven that you've got a knack for these games. You've just gotta show that you're better than everyone else now."

"But… what if my best isn't enough?" desperation filled his voice, while he looked away, towards the carpeted floor. "What if I lose to someone in round one, what if…" his voice trailed off.

Lynn took a deep breath and stood up with that. She quickly checked the hallway, taking care to make sure that none of their siblings would be around to listen to what she was about to say. Calmly, she closed the door and locked it, sealing the closet from the outside world.

The boy looked up at his sister in confusion. "Uhh… what's goin' on, Lynn?"

The young woman took a deep breath. "Lincoln, did I ever tell you about my first time playing sports, like actually talk about it?"

"Uhh, not really," Lincoln tilted his head in confusion. "You usually talk about the stuff you do now…"

Lynn took another breath and began to rub her arm in embarrassment. "Well… that's because… I just… I was absolutely horrible," she looked away in shame, I used to barely be able to even run in a straight line!" suddenly, the air heated up, while Lynn's voice filled with a soft sincerity. "I was scared my first time too, but if I learned anything from what happened that day, it's that if you do your best, there's nothing to be afraid of."

And all Lincoln could do in response, was watch, his mind beginning to imagine a younger Lynn, scared out of her mind as she first approached one of the fields that would define her life.

"That day, I got my motto, 'No pain, no regret, no remorse…'" she leaned forward, looking into her brother's eyes once more, while placing her hand on his shoulders. "…and no shame," she then pulled her brother into a soft embrace, her voice filling with a weary hope. "No matter what happens, if you're doing your best, you'll have nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. And I know you're gonna get far."

For a moment, Lincoln considered fighting Lynn's embrace, to deny the advice she had decided to bestow upon him. And yet, he found himself simply smiling and returning the hug, whispering. "Thank you, Lynn… you're the best."

She chuckled and pushed him off, shaking her head as she did so. "No Lincoln, tomorrow, you're the best. All you've gotta do is prove it."

"Heh, will do sis, will do," he gaze a small nod.

"Lincoln! Are you ready for bed?" Rita's voice echoed through the home, breaking through the soft air that had formed between the two siblings.

The boy looked into Lynn's eyes for a moment, a silence nod of understanding passing by both of them, before Lincoln replied. "Yeah mom!" and returned his focus to the girl. "Looks like mom wants me, anything else you wanna say before I go?"

"No matter what happens tomorrow, win or lose, you're still our brother," the young woman threw her arms around him once more, before pushing him back and poking his chess. "But just know, you'd better win tomorrow!"

"Heh, of course I'll win, I know I can," the boy did his best to force away the fear trying to enter his voice, and thankfully he was able to succeed. After that, he broke his sister's embrace and stepped out of his room's door. "Need me, mom?"

"Yep! Just come downstairs sweetie!" The woman replied with a motherly warmth. "There's just one more thing you've gotta do before tomorrow!"

"All right, mom!" And with that, Lincoln complied, wasting no time heading down the stairs and into his home's living room, only to find his mother sitting upright on the couch, a small notebook tucked snug under her arm.

"Come over, Lincoln," she pat the spot next to her. "How are you feeling, Lincoln?"

With soft, careful movements he took a seat next to his mother. "A bit nervous, but Lynn just talked to me and stuff so I think I'm gonna be fine…"

The woman smiled. "That's great Lincoln, really, it is," before she turned and looked into his eyes. "It's extremely important to boost your morale before going into anything major. After all, if you go in thinking you're gonna lose, then you're probably gonna lose"

"Yeah…" Lincoln nodded in understanding, before looking up to his mother. "So, uhh… what's up, mom? Shouldn't I be getting a full night's sleep before the tourney starts?"

"Of course, of course," the woman quickly adjusted herself in her seat to face the boy. "I just wanted to tell you the overall format of the competition and some advice going in, ok?" She poked her head. "Remember, the day of a tournament is always confusing, especially a big one like this."

The boy nodded once more. "All right mom, I understand."

"Good," the woman nodded in response, before pulling out her notebook and reading aloud. "So, this is an open queue tournament, as such entries will only occur in the morning."

"Sounds simple enough…" Lincoln's voice trailed off.

"Yeah, we're gonna need to be early though if we're gonna beat the line," Rita shook her head. "But that is besides the point. The tournament will take place over the course of five rounds, with the first being selections and the remaining four being the main event."

Lincoln tilted his head in confusion. "Uhh… what does that mean, mom?"

"In layman's terms, only the top sixteen players from round one will be allowed to progress to round two," she returned her focus to the notebook. "According to the host's website, you will be assigned computers to use, and those will log your wins and losses in the following notation: one point for a win, zero points for a loss and half a point for a draw."

For a moment, Lincoln and Rita both remained silent, the woman waiting to confirm that her son had understood the information she was giving him… only for the boy to blink twice.

"Uhh, mom… why's the tourney being held like this?" Lincoln tilted his head in confusion. "This seems a bit… complicated, ya know?"

"It is complicated, no doubt about that," Rita shrugged. "But given the sheer number of players the organizers are expecting, its completely necessary," she looked into her son's eyes. "They want this tourney to last a weekend, not a whole week."

"Fair enough," Lincoln shrugged. "So what do you suggest, mom?" He tilted his head in curiosity.

"When trying to win in a tournament like this, it's important not to waste time," the woman closed her notebook and turned to face her son. "Therefore, you are going to have to rush through games earning as many wins and draws as you can while minimizing your losses. It's better to get a quick draw than a long win."

Lincoln tilted his head in curiosity. "How come? Isn't it better to have more wins overall?"

"Of course," Rita replied. "But the time you waste getting a win, you could've gotten three draws, and if my time teaching gaming physics serves me well, it's that one point five is greater than one."

The boy considered the argument for a moment, before nodding in understanding. "All right mom, all right."

And with that, Rita wrapped her arms around her son. "You don't know how proud you've made me so far, Lincoln. now keep going!"

The boy smiled and returned the embrace. "You got it, mom," Before breaking it and hopping to his feet and yawning. "Anyways, I'm tired. I've got a big day tomorrow!"

The woman smiled and nodded. "That you do. Get some rest and make sure that your gaming clothes are ready for tomorrow. Remember, we're gonna be up early tomorrow so we can beat the line!"

"Got it, mom," the boy nodded once more, before turning and heading up the stairs, leaving the woman behind, smiling at the thought of her son entering his first tournament.

 _ **The Next Day…**_

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* A familiar device sparked to life, its harsh ring filling the young boy's room.

"Ugh… morning already?" Lincoln groaned as be slowly pulled himself up from his bed. _"Seven AM on a summer morning… heh if it wasn't the day of the competition…"_ his eyes went wide and he immediately jumped out of his bed. "Today's the day!"

Quickly, he opened up the door to his room and grabbed the towel. _"I have to get ready! Mom said we're leaving really early, right?"_ only to reveal a certain group of girls already waiting by the open bathroom door. "Uhh, hey guys, what's up?" he approached them. "Aren't you guys gonna shower?"

"Oh nothing, Lincoln," Lori waved her little brother off. "Mom just wanted to make sure that you'd be up and ready early today. You know, since we're gonna be going to watch your tourney and you never know what could happen the day of the comp." she motioned towards the nearby door. "Head inside. She asked us to make sure that it was open for you when you woke up."

Lincoln smiled. _"Thanks mom,"_ before he nodded in understanding. "Thanks you guys… and you're planning on coming to watch?"

"Course bro!" Lana flared her arms for emphasis. "You've always come to support us, so we're gonna be there for you!"

"Plus, we've been with ya every step of the way," Lynn walked up to the boy and crossed her arms, showing a confident, knowing smile as she did so. "And we're not gonna leave you hanging when you're so close to the end," she playfully punched his arm. "Now get ready. Mom made sure that we never had to share the bathroom the day of our first comp, and now it's your turn."

Suddenly, Lincoln's heart began to race. After years of having to share with his sisters- to rush passed them in hopes of getting his own spot before anyone else, all ten of his sisters stood by, simply smiling and waiting for him to walk in. And all he could do, was smile.

"I suggest you quickly do your business and leave, elder brother," Lisa crossed her arms and looked up at the boy. "Murphy's Law states that what can go wrong will do so and Finagle's Law adds that the universe will make it as uncomfortable as possible."

"I thought you disliked things like those?" Lincoln raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I do," Lisa shook her head. "But, I am well aware of jut how random and chaotic the universe can be. Besides, aren't you going to be working with a rather entertaining random number generator?"

Lincoln thought for a moment, and shrugged. "I guess you've got a point there."

"I know I do," Lisa counters.

"Ugh! Whatever!" Lola cut in. "I need my beauty time Lincoln, now go in there before I take over!"

Lincoln chuckled and held his hands up defensively. "Heh, all right Lola, all right!" before he turned to the rest of his sisters. "Thanks you guys, really!"

Lori smiled and shook her head. "Mom told us to do this, but we would've let you have it anyways. After all, everyone else got their chance, now it's your turn."

And with that, he walked passed them and entered the bathroom.

 _ **Later…**_

"Man, it's been a long time since I stood in a registration line," Rita chuckled as she lead her family out through the halls leading to the main arena. "So how are you feeling, Lincoln?"

"I'm fine," the boy quickly replied, his body tense while he simply stared forward as if he were a man staring down a firing squad.

"Haha," she chuckled in response, taking the chance to rub his head once more. "Don't worry Lincoln, you'll be fine. You said it yourself, you know you've come a long way!" she looked down upon him. "And we're always with you, no matter what!"

The boy quickly clung to the controller in his hand. Rita had told him to put it with everything else, but he insisted that he hold it.

"Yeah son," Lynn Sr. came up from behind and pat his son's back. "Plus, it's not like there's gonna be a massive audience watching you!"

Rita smiled. "Well, today only. Since it's the qualifying round for the main event, the only people sticking around are here to support their own participant," before stopping her son right at the edge of the gate. From what they could see, the arena was packed with gamers of all shapes and sizes, some talking to each other while others sparred, taking the chance to warm up before the main event started. "This is where we, or should I say, they, leave you."

"Uhh, what for hon? Aren't we gonna come with you two to support Lincoln?" Lynn Sr. tilted his head in confusion.

"Coaches have a dedicated space for themselves so that they can watch out for their players easier," she smiled at her son. "And since I coached Lincoln, I'll be there helping him through this."

Lori looked out of the gate as well. "Wow… it looks like these guys take their games way too seriously, huh?"

"You could say that." Rita shrugged, before looking out into the massive crowd as well. "Though I'll admit, it looks like this has a poor early turnout. Last time I was here, there were so many gamers that the organizers had to commandeer some of the bleachers!"

For a moment, Lori questioned just how to respond, though eventually chose to simply shrug and turn. "All right then. I guess we'll just-"

Only to find that her siblings, save for Lola and Lisa of course, were now covered in gaming paraphernalia and wearing shirts that spelled out "Lincoln!" with lily as the exclamation point. "Uhh… where'd you get that stuff?"

"I brought it from home!" Leni cheerfully responded.

Lori blinked twice with that. "You know what, I literally will not question it."

"All right then, you two, good luck today," Lynn Sr. took a breath, seemingly questioning if he should go along with what was happening before him, though eventually relenting. "Lets go girls, we need to get good seats," and with that, theey turned and walked off, leaving the duo behind at the gate.

Rita didn't hesitate to turn to her son with that. "All right Lincoln, now it's your turn to shine," she squatted down to the boy's height. "So, do you know what you're gonna do here? You know, how to pick a station?"

"I think I do," he rubs the back of his head. "I'm supposed to find the most quiet place, right? That way I'll have an easier time focusing during the match."

"You're thinking critically about this stuff, good," the woman smiled, and then shook her head. "But no. Rather, you should find some of your friends and sit next to them."

Lincoln tilted his head in confusion. "Uhh, how come, mom? Won't friends just distract me during the match?"

"Remember Lincoln, when you're around people you're comfortable with, you always play better. It's just a matter of fact," Rita smiled at her son. "And if you need me, for anything, just know that I'm nearby, ok?"

 _"There's no turning back now,"_ the young boy gulped, before nodding in understanding. "All right mom, all right."

And with that, the woman stepped aside and motioned for her son to enter the playing hall. "Good luck!"

The boy took a breath and nodded at his mother, before stepping through the gate, leaving her behind and entering the fray. Quickly, he found himself forcing his way through a sea of random gamers coming from all walks of life; he glanced one way and found some whom he assumed lived in their parents' basement while in another direction he noticed some who seemed to simply be playing it for casual fun. _"And not a familiar face for miles... huh?"_

"Lincoln!" A feminine voice called out, prompting the boy to turn to the source, a young girl white long, white locks waving at him from a nearby station. "Come over we've saved a console for ya!"

" _I spoke too soon,"_ Lincoln cracked a small smile, before trying to force his way through the crowd… only to end up pushing out too hard and face planting against the concrete floor.

The white-haired girl chuckled. "Heh, looks like you're having a fun time here," she offered her hand to the boy, and without hesitation, Lincoln took it and used it to pull himself up.

"Thanks, and I'm glad you could make it!" Lincoln quickly dusted himself off.

"Same here, Link," she couldn't help, but crack a smile. "Looks like you hit the ground pretty hard, are you ok?"

Yet, the boy simply waved his companion off. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I've got to deal with way worse back home," he shrugged in nonchalance. "When you've got ten sisters to live with, you get used to it all."

"That's good," she turned and took her seat once more, motioning for him to follow. "Have you picked a station yet?"

Lincoln shook his head in response. "nope," before he grabbed the open chair next to the girl. "This one open?"

Sambell nodded. "Yeah."

And with that, Lincoln took his seat and quickly logged in, taking the chance to choose the three warriors he would be using this match. "So Sam, while we wait, what should I do?"

"Just warm up," she booted up her computer and selected her characters as well. "It's harder than you think to find someone to spar with. After all, no one wants to show off their skills before a big match like this. So you might as well just put an AI on normal and fight against it," she quickly looked to her other side, taking note of Chandler doing the same thing, before she turned to Lincoln. "And remember, you don't wanna over exert yourself before the main event. That'll just cause you to hit last place."

Lincoln nodded in understanding. "Thanks Sam."

She waved him off. "It's not a problem. After all, us guild members gotta stay together!"

"You know it." Lincoln turned away with that, choosing instead to focus on practicing for the next few moments. _"I will win. If I wanna be better than mom, I've gotta do whatever I can on my own and win!"_

And for the next hour, he went on, simply sparing against the relatively easy bots as he warmed up. _"But… am I good enough?"_ The thought crossed his mind. _"Yeah, I've made it this far, but… still…"_ he shook his head, purging the train of thought from his mind. _"Bad idea Lincoln, don't psyche yourself out,"_ he paused the match and glanced around. In the time he had met up Sambell, nothing much had changed. Some players had lost their pre-games and had new people coming in to replace them.

Slowly, his gaze moved from player to player. Some were big, some were small, some were somewhere between the two, and yet everyone looked like they meant business. _"But I can prove that I'm the best, I just need to go as far as I can…"_

Suddenly, Lincoln found his blood running cold. Amongst the crowd of random gamers, he noticed a figure, clad in a black sweater in jogging pants. Now, normally this would be seen as comfortable attire to wear for a long gaming session. Yet, this person was wearing a set of sunglasses and seemingly reacted to Lincoln's gaze by flinching and returning to their own console. _"Do they… know me?"_ he shook his head once more. _"Calm down Lincoln, you're just being paranoid. You're an unknown here, which means I can bring in any surprise I want,"_ before he unpaused the game and continued to warm up.

* * *

More time passed after that, before the announcer- an old man in a suit and tie- finally walked on stage. He slowly took up a microphone and tapped it, causing a soft thump to echo through the playing hall, causing all present to turn towards him. "This job never gets old," he raised his arm in greeting. "Hello gamers! And welcome to the League of Heroes Two: Ancient Defenders Open Queue Tournament!"

Cheers erupted from the playing hall with that, to which the man motioned to settle down. "Ahh, oh how I love hearing those cheers," he adjusted his stance. "All right then, today is the qualifying tournament for the main event taking place over the next two days. There are over two hundred of you present today and we're gonna need to sort you all out before we can see who is really the best!"

" _Just like what mom said would happen,"_ Lincoln quickly thought.

"And so, today, your challenge is to win as many games as you can before the timer runs out!" the announcer's voice filled with excitement. "In total, you've got six hours!" he chuckled. "And if any of you are feeling exhausted and wanna take a break, we have vendors all over this arena as well as live events from the game's creators, if you're not too focused on winning of course!"

Instantly, a thought cut across Lincoln's mind, causing him to grip the controller tightly. _"I came here to win! I'm not gonna back down when I'm about to fightin the first tournament I've ever competed in!"_ At that point, he could feel his heart beginning to race while adrenaline flooded his veins. _"For her, for them, I will not back down."_

"All right everyone, get your headsets on and adjust your settings! You've got ten minutes before the first flag falls and tournament begins! Just follow the instructions on your screen to enter the gaming lobby! We will not wait for late arrivals!" he then turned to face the crowd. "And for those in the audience that wish to watch the games, complimentary tablets are under your seats! Just look for the player's gamer tag and view!"

Without hesitation, Lincoln logged out of the practice lobby he was in and moved to join the main one… only to cause a flurry of voices to rush through his headset. "Yo, who these fools? Do they really think they can win?" and "Pfft, you're all scrubs!" repeated several times with every accent possible, along with the occasional. "This tournament's whatever to me. I'm gonna win easily, you guys all suck!"

" _This will be mildly distracting,"_ with that thought in mind, Lincoln scrolled through several menus to find the option bar and mute his chat, silencing the chaos that filled his headset. _"Ahh, something I could never get at home, some peace and quiet,"_ he chuckled. _"I should be fine now."_

After that nervous air began to fill the playing hall. Suddenly, the once proud and excited players had stopped their random talks, leaving only the sounds of trash talkers and trolls in their wake. Everyone stood by in anticipation as the announcer raised his hand, and as the clock hit noon, he lowered it, declared. "And begin!"

 _ **Checking queue… Match found!**_

Though words immediately appeared on Lincoln' screen, as if triggered by the announcer himself. Frantically, Lincoln typed commands into his console, hoping that any last-minute change would not impact his upcoming performance. _"All right, lets see what we've got here…"_ before the avatar of his first opponent appeared: a simple squirrel sitting around in a some random park followed by the screenname: "Dragon_Omega". _"Strange… but like what mom always said, never judge someone based on their avatar."_

" _Just stay calm and you can win,"_ he took one more deep breath, before hitting the randomize button under character selection, picking one of the three he had selected for battle.. _"I have to go all out during these. These are one on one games and I can't waste too much time with a single opponent. I have to get into the top bracket!"_ and with that, the duo materialized on their battlefield once more.

" _All right, lets grab the initiative!"_ Lincoln wasted no time running his hands over his controller, causing his warrior to pull out their twin short swords and rush forward. "First, close the gap so I can overwhelm them easier.

Yet, his opponent- a man carrying a strange staff and small spellbook remained steadfast, seemingly unfazed by the assault.

" _Aleister, the Wizard of Invocation. Works by changing forms to suit the situation."_ Lincoln grit his teeth. _"Only the best of the best use him because of just how difficult he is to use. Luckily for me, I run him too. Though in the qualifiers, this won't matter much since I'm only allowed to run him a 3_ _rd_ _of the time,"_ he glanced at his own warrior. _"Socratos the Ghost of Athens. A fierce warrior used only by the most elite of players due to requiring an extreme knowledge of mechanics and creativity to use. I should have the advantage here I just need to-"_

Yet, before the boy could even finish his train of thought, the game announcer's voice filled his ears. "Ability activate: Meltdown Madness!"

Suddenly, Aleister raised his staff, causing a wave of light to engulf both him and Socratos.

Lincoln found his eyes going with that. "No! I won't let you!" He frantically typed away, hoping to be able to stop the assault. "Charge of Athens!" Socratos responded by opening his shield and charging at the magician, and yet this proved fruitless as with a burst of light, both characters were on the ground, defeated without even a fight.

 **Game result: Draw**

"Dangit, that's only half a point," Lincoln whispered in frustration, before quickly leaving the match room and shaking his head. _"I never did get those people that just join into games and end them in draws for no reason. I didn't even get the upper hand on him yet!"_ he quickly shook his head and joined the queue for another game. _"Doesn't matter right now, I have to get back in the game._

And soon enough, his next game came up. _**Match found!**_

This time, the avatar was of a man covered in lightning bolts calling the same from the heavens above. _"King_of_lighting_1337?"_ the boy couldn't help but chuckle, before receiving Aleister and appearing in the battlefield, while his opponent took a moment and summoned a giant rock monster with a glowing core in its center.

Quickly, Lincoln typed away, prompting Aleister to raise his staff. "Ability activate: Invocation!" causing the wizard to glow for a moment, before assuming the form of knight in shining armor surrounded by winds. **Form: Raidjin**. Then, before his opponent could even react to the ability, Lincoln flew at the rock beast, easily breaking off its arm, before sending its lightning sword into its chest, ending the match with Lincoln having taken no damage.

" _That was too easy."_ He couldn't help, but chuckle.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

"Wow, Lincoln's doing great!" Lana watched the battle in amazement. "He just ran over that guy like it was nothing!"

"A shame too, I expected more from someone who calls themselves the 'king of lightning'," Lisa shook her head in disappointment.

"That's the thing Lisa, remember, being too proud can lead to your defeat," Lynn shook her head, before glancing up, seemingly trying to remember one of her own experiences. "If you think you're high and mighty, someone who's better is gonna cream ya," she rubbed the back of her head. "You wouldn't believe how many times that's happened to me…"

"I see…" Lori's voice trailed off for a moment, before she refocused he gaze on her brother. "So far, so good, Lincoln… I wonder if mom's enjoying this too…"

Despite the commotion, however, Lynn Sr. remained quiet, seemingly unable to move his gaze from the sight of the young boy's game… _"Have I really done anything to help Lincoln get here? I mean, this whole time,"_ he paused his train of thought _. "Am I really a good role model for him? I haven't done anything noteworthy…"_

"So who does it look like Lincoln's gonna be playin' against next?" Lana cheerfully asked.

Luan responded by watching Lincoln's next game… only for him to quickly end it with two sword swipes, cutting apart a poker-based warrior. "Well that's one way to win a game of cards!" before she threw her head back in laughter.

" _Lincoln's doing great,"_ Lynn smiled. _"He really did take what I told him to heart. Now lets hope he can keep it up!"_

 _ **Back with Lincoln…**_

"All right, next game should be coming in a few…" he whispered. "seven and a half points works out. I wish it were either though…" he shook his head. _"But in the end, it doesn't matter, I will not give up."_

Quickly, the next game came into view, allowing Lincoln to choose his third warrior: a man with twin black, metal wings. _"RAID Raptor… rated as the lowest tier warrior, but he has a secret that I will use to win!"_

He initialized into the game, causing a man in golden armor to appear before him. _"Pleiades, the defensive warrior that everyone hates going up against,"_ the boy thought, steeling his nerves as he did so.

The warrior quickly raised his golden spear, before sending a bolt of light at RAID Raptor

In response, Lincoln commanded the bird warrior to dodge, before diving down, engulfing his character in flames as he did so. "Ravaging Rebellion!"

Yet, his opponent did not relent, and quickly raised its silver cape emblazoned with green gems to block the attack and force Lincoln back. _"I will not lose here!"_ he typed away quickly. "Ability activate: Rank-Up Evolution!"

And immediately, his warrior engulfed itself in a cloud darkness, before reappearing with more streamlined red armor with four scarlet wings before him. **Form: Blaze Falcon.**

"This is gonna end badly for you," Lincoln couldn't help, but chuckle with that, before typing his next command. "Go! Raptor's thunderclap!" prompting the warrior to release a barrage of robotic feathers, blasting his opponent to smithereens.

Desperately, Pleiades raised its golden spear and cloak, trying to block the onslaught of attacks, but to no avail. The feathers quickly surrounded him, before firing their payload of lasers, causing dust to envelop the golden knight.

A few moments after that, the dirt finally settled and, revealing that Pleiades was now on the ground, the golden warrior's armor shattered by the unrelenting attack, while his health bar hit zero without question.

" _The power of rebellion… sometimes you have to misdirect your opponent and lead them astray in order to gain the upper hand…"_ Lincoln quickly logged out of the game and went to find another. _"Those are my three warriors. I hope they'll server me well…"_ he took a deep breath, his mind rushing back to that first draw. _"That person… why did he decide that it was so important to draw the first game of this tournament… it's almost like he recognized my name and just didn't wanna face me… But that doesn't make sense! I'm not that famous!"_

He shook his head. _"I'm probably just letting this get to me… it was probably nothing."_ And with that, his next match started.

 _ **Six Hours Later…**_

"And, controllers down!" the announcer walked up to the head of the stage once more and held out his arms. "The time to play has elapsed and it's time to announce the talented sixteen players that will be participating in the semifinal rounds!"

And immediately the massive screen behind him lit up, displaying the screen names and photos of the winners. Quickly, he scanned the list. _"One is the person who forced a draw against me… Sambell's number five, that champion is number two and I'm… rank sixteen…"_ A shiver ran through Lincoln's spine. _"I'm the lowest rated winner…"_

"All right everyone! We thank you all for participating! And for those of you that will not be joining up for tomorrow's tournament, we thank you for your continued support and hope you'll come back next year!"

"I can't believe it! We both made it Lincoln!" The white-haired girl cheerfully declared

"Heh, yeah," Lincoln put on a sheepish smile, before pulling away from the board. _"I made it… and yet I'm the weakest of them all…"_

"Grr, dangit!" Chandler slammed his headset against his keyboard. "This was so rigged!"

Sambell chuckled. "This game ain't rigged, it's just that not everyone plays like a bot on easy."

Immediately, the redhead's face became just as red as his hair, before he looked away and crossed his arms in embarrassment. "Whatever!"

" _Looks like I won't be versing him in the semi-finals after all… heh I guess that feeling of déjà vu had nothing behind it…"_ and with that, Lincoln logged off and shut down his computer. "Well… I think I should go find my family, they're probably cheering because I got in."

Sambell nodded in understanding, before standing up as well. "Same here, Lincoln," she throws her arms around him with that. "See you tomorrow!"

Lincoln quickly returned the hug. "No problem, Sam."

And with that, they broke off to find their families.

…

"We're so happy for you bro!" Luna threw her arms around her brother, while the rest of his siblings followed suit, clustering around the boy into one massive group hug.

"But… I got last place guys…" he looked away shamefully.

"Yes, that's true," Rita walked over to her son and smiled. "But you got last place out of sixteen of the top players in an over two-hundred person tournament. That required skill, Lincoln," she pulled him from his sister's embrace and looked into her eyes. "You've made me so proud today, and I'm sure you can do it again."

The woman then stood up straight and motioned for her family to follow. "Now come on, let go. The semi-finals of a tournament are nothing to scoff at. You have to be well-rested! "

Lincoln nodded in understanding, before taking one last look at the final standings. _"I'm only rated sixteenth… will I even be able to stand up to those above me?"_ fear began to flood his veins, before he shook his head, desperately trying to purge the thought from his mind. _"I-I'll be fine…"_

With that, the Louds finally left the venue for the night.

8-5-18-5-'19 20-15 8-15-16-9-14-7 20-8-1-20 12-9-14-3-15-12-14 23-15-14 20 2-21-18-14 4-15-23-14 20-8-5 22-5-14-21-5 12-9-11-5 12-1-19-20 20-9-13-5!

 **A/N Man, this story's winding down pretty nicely. I hope you guys enjoyed! As always, I thank my friends on discord for helping me! And I thank Wolvenstrom for all his help! And if you ever wanna talk or join a great community, feel free to join the TLH Wiki Discord Server!**

 **Guest Reviews (C6):**

 **Guest 1: Here's the update!**

 **Rackno-W: I'll admit, I've never heard of those before. I picked "Through the Fire and the Flames" because it's difficulty has become a meme.**

 **Guest 2: All I know about Tattletail is that it's apparently like FNaF, so I really can't reference something like it.**


	8. The Magician's Middle Game

**A/N Hey guys! I'm back once again to bring in another chapter of this fic! Man, this is the first time in a long time that I've just been editing fics instead of writing them out, but hey, it's the style I'm planning on working on my next stories with. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy! Also, I wonder who can figure out who's the title referring to, and I'll give a hint, he's from Riga.**

 **R &R!**

Chapter Either: The Magician's Middle Game

The night after that was of the typical sort. With the Louds getting dinner and Rita giving Lincoln some more support after the results of the first round, before the whole family went to the bed.

And now, Lincoln once more stood at the entrance to the arena, his heart racing much faster than the day prior, while nervous thoughts began to fill his mind once more. _"All right Lincoln… you've made it to day two,"_ he took a deep breath. _"Just stay calm and you'll do well, right?"_

Rita placed a hand on her son's shoulder. "Are you gonna be all right, Lincoln?" the woman squatted down to her son's height and looked into his eyes. "It's all right if you're nervous."

Lincoln responded by twiddling his thumbs for a short moment. "I- I guess… it's just… it's my first one, you know?" he then rubbed the back of his head, before turning towards the tournament area. The once packed tables filled from end to end with computers had been replaced by several small cubicles, no doubt allowing the organizers to monitor the players while allowing the players to better tune out the world.

The woman couldn't help, but crack a smile. "Heh, sounds like your first finals jitters," she slowly ran her hand through her son's soft, white hair. "I remember the first time I got this far in a tourney, I was sweating bullets, and I didn't even know who my next opponent would be!" she turned and began rummaging through her bag. "But I didn't let it get to me," she then pulled out a small bottle and handed it to Lincoln. "Here, this will help calm your nerves."

The young boy took the bottle in his hands and raised an eyebrow at his mother. "Uhh… what's this?"

"Talcum powder. It'll dry your hands," she takes his wrist and her hand and opens his palm, before taking the bottle and pouring some of the contents out for him. "When your hands get sweaty, you lose your grip and when you start to lose your grip, you can feel yourself lose grip over the match," she then looked into his eyes once more and held his shoulders. "Lincoln, you're the best player here. All you've gotta do is prove it."

" _I guess… but I'm not the best, am I?"_ He looked away in thought. _"I'm the lowest rated out of all sixteen finalists…"_

After that, she stood up straight and looked out into the massive auditorium. At this point, just a mere ten minutes before the next round was to start, the seats were filled by the thousands of fans eager to watch the games unfold as well as those simply cheering on their own player.

Now, the massive screens that had been set up around the arena were live, displaying the lobbies that would soon be joined by two of the competitors. No doubt they would soon follow up by displaying the game as well. "And remember Lincoln, matches only last a few minutes at the most, so you only need to keep it together during that time and you'll be fine," she giggled. "Though, I'm a bit amused. It's surprising to see them put some much time into an event that'll only last a day at most."

For a moment, Lincoln remained silent, seemingly unsure of just what to say next, and so he simply took a deep breath. "Mom, what was it like when you played competitively?"

Rita raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What do you mean, Lincoln?"

"You know… how was it like to play when you still did? How were the people, the matches?" Fear began to make its way into his voice. "And… is that the same thing I'm gonna be going up against today?"

The woman hesitated her reply, taking care to choose her words, before she took a deep breath and looked away, before turning back and focusing her gaze upon her son. "Lincoln, when I was young, and I mean younger than you are right now, gaming was nothing more than, well… just a small thing, just played for fun," she looked into his eyes. "But the old guard, the original gamers proved themselves and proved that gaming was a legitimate profession. And as a child, I would wait, and watch from far away, but I always felt like I would be the one making a living off the platform while everyone just played," She then stood up straight and turned away. "I heard a call and I answered it."

" _Just like me…"_ the thought crossed Lincoln's mind.

"I joined after the crash of '83. Because of marketing trying to bring games back into the spotlight, gaming was still seen as a boy's only club, so when I joined the Royal Woods Gaming Guild, well, no one couldn't believe it!" she chuckled. "If I remember correctly, I was twelve at the time, and was one of the few female members of the competitive community," she looked into the massive crowd, allowing her gaze to fall upon a certain family in the distance, their shirts spelling out her son's name while they waved small flags and giant foam fingers declaring that he was number one. "You'd think that because so few people played, the matches wouldn't be that difficult, right?"

Lincoln nodded. "Yeah… fewer people means that there is less to work off of, right?"

"You'd be wrong. Back in those days, it was quality over quantity," the woman shook her head. "The matches we had back then were some of the most intense I have ever seen. If you wanted to be a pro, you had to work for it and that was the truth. As the saying goes, 'challenge forges the strongest warrior'."

Suddenly, Lincoln's thoughts raced through the events of the past week, all of the trials and tribulations that lead him here, standing at the precipice to his first finals match. _"And she's made sure that I went through the ringer to get here…"_

"And before I leave you to play, let me tell you, the people were the best part of the job. They were the nicest people I ever met, but come game time they were my fiercest rivals," a fond smile filled her expression as her gaze passed over the present members of the gaming guild. "And if it wasn't for them constantly pushing me, I doubt I would've been able to get as far as I did."

Lincoln clutched his fists while the thoughts of his mother having to fight against people that were not only on her level, but stronger than her filled his mind. _"And she was able to prove herself there…"_ suddenly he found his heart falling at ease. _"And that means I can prove myself too, right?"_ He took a deep breath at the thought. "Mom… what's the best word of advice you can give to me, today?"

"That no matter what happens, I'll always love you," Rita then wrapped her arms around the boy, allowing her soft heat to envelope him. "Lincoln, you're a Loud and I know that if you do your best and don't give in to fear you will win. "

The boy nodded in understanding, before returning his mother's embrace.

" **Five minutes to game time! All contestants, report to your stations if you haven't done so already!"**

Lincoln broke the embrace and nodded, before turning around and making his way towards the stage. "Thanks mom, for everything."

And in response, Rita held her hand up to her mouth and called out. "No problem honey! Now go make us proud!"

At this point the venue was so full that there was a crowd of people standing in the border between the playing field and the bleachers, while many others opted to sit in the aisles and in the surrounding hallways, hoping to get a glimpse of the players that they so admired.

" _Lets see here…"_ Lincoln took the chance to take in the scene around him. From what he could tell, the cubicles were small yet isolated from the outside world, allowing one to work and play games without distractions. Because of the desire to stifle cheating, all equipment would be provided by the managers themselves. _"Hopefully I'll be able to break in the equipment in time. I really hate the idea of having to work with a stiff controller… again."_

He sighed and shook his head, before walking over to his assigned station. He wasted no time getting to work, moving the controls and messing with the buttons in any way he could just to get a feel for the device, though thankfully, this proved easier than expected, allowing Lincoln take another deep breath to calm any remaining nerves. After that, he logged in and chose his characters, leaving him ready for when he would fight. _"All right, all right. Just stay calm and I'll be fine."_

Slowly after that, Lincoln found his gaze wandering away from his computer and moving over to the opponents he would soon be facing. _"Lets see… Sam's lookin' pretty confident… that random looks fine as well…"_ sis gaze fell upon a familiar hooded figure, causing a shiver to run down his spine. "… _They made it to the semi-finals too, huh?"_ he shook his head. _"I'll be fine, I'll be fine… there has to have been a reason for why they decided to draw their game against me, right? Heck that might not have even been them, right?"_

He continued to look around, his gaze hopping from competitor to competitor. _"All right, we've got the number two here, as well as a few others that I don't know…"_ he shivered. _"And they all look pretty confident…"_ his gaze fell upon another familiar man. _"The master… Robert Magnus,"_ suddenly, the memory of his game against him rushed to the forefront of his mind, with the feelings of loss and disappointment following soon after. Quickly, he shook his head, purging it from his mind. _"No, I'm fine, I will win! He can't get to me that easily!"_

Yet, even he couldn't let go of the fear filling his body. _"No… I'm fine, I'm fine…"_

" _ **Hello everyone!"**_ the announcer called out once more. **"** _ **We're just about to start! Tension is filling in the air and I know that we're about to see some spirited competition!"**_

" _Well, there's nothing left to do, but to be ready for whatever my opponent has in store for me,"_ he turned and focused his gaze upon his screen, taking the chance to drown out the outside world as he prepared the final touches. _"Abilities set, weapons ready. Let's just hope I don't end up in a mirror match. Those get annoying to play in"_

" _ **For those that do not know, the rules for these final rounds are simple. You have to fight all three of your opponent's heroes and defeat them all in order to proceed!"**_ the announcer quickly holds his hand up to his mouth and looked from side to side. _**"And between me and all of you, I'm expecting some major comebacks today!"**_

He laughed with that, before raising his hands. _**"Now, screens connect and lobbies initialize!"**_ The massive screens immediately came to life, projecting a spectator's view of all of the soon-to-be-used fields, while Lincoln's screen displayed his opponent's gamertag, as well as causing his voice to echo through the headset.

"Yo! What's this?! I'm versin' sixteen? I wanted a challenge!" the man on the other end taunted.

" _Just ignore him. He's trying to rile you up,"_ Lincoln closed his eyes, shook his head and took a deep breath, while the screen moved away from the lobby and displayed. **"Savvy05 vs. Mega_death."**

"Whatever, this ain't gonna take too long," the man on the other line seemingly shook his head in disappointment. "Your punk-ass probably runs Mushroom man."

" _No one runs mushroom man,"_ the boy shook his head again. _"Don't let it get to you. If you let insults fill your mind then you will mess up."_

And with that, the battlefield initialized before him, with his warrior appearing not long after and moments after that, a man clad in jet-black armor decorated with silver spines and highlights, came into view as well. The field was a massive, cathedral-like building with a throne standing by their side. _"Welcome to the domain of the true monarchs."_

"Haha!" his opponent laughed. "You decided to use that weakling against Chaos Caius? Man! I was right! You really are pathetic!" immediately after that, the dark-clad man held his arms forward and charged a ball of black energy, before launching it at Lincoln.

Yet, Lincoln remained calm, wasting no time ordering his warrior to dodge the attack. _"This guy just doesn't know when to shut up._ "

"Vanishing blaster!" The ability name popped on screen, prompting Caius to jump up and hurl a barrage of black orbs at Lincoln once more. "Take this, scrub, and go back home to your mommy! You're weak and don't belong here!"

"Pff, you call those insults?" Lincoln found himself countering. "Mate, I've got ten sisters that trash talk better than you. Heck, my four-year-old sister can trash talk you; beat you in a rap battle and then trash talk you again just for good measure! These insults are nothing!"

"Yeah right, just admit it, you know I'm better than you," the man countered, before ordering Caius to jump at Lincoln's character… only for the marked warrior to raise his shield and counter, forcing the dark man back, allowing him to strike breaking its armor. "You're a spineless, pale, pathetic kid!"

" _Remember, the battle is two-fold, beat one and you defeat the other"_ Lincoln hesitated for a moment and smiled, before commanding his warrior to pull out his twin short-swords. "Comin' from fifteen? You didn't do any better. Heck, from the looks of it, you had to bribe your way here!"

"What are you talkin' about?!" the man countered, his voice calming down as curiosity soon followed.

"I'm sixteen because my opponent forced a draw in my first game!" Lincoln threw his head back in laughter. "But you? From what I see here you're no better than he randoms I play daily!" quickly, Lincoln then sent one of the two short swords into the crack he had made. "Now, burn." And immediately, the blade glowed, before sending a stream of fire through the dark man, causing his to disappear from the game. "One down, two to go."

"Whatever," his opponent immediately snapped back. "That was just a lucky break." Immediately after that, thunder began to fill the battlefield, before his second warrior appeared, this one wearing large, silver armor decorated with several lightning rods, as well as thunderbolts filling his hands.

" _Zaborg huh? This guy's a moron trying to be smart by using the elemental lords. But he trash talks too much. No doubt he didn't have that many skilled opponents in the qualifiers or else he would've realized just how bad his strategy is."_ Lincoln chuckled, before ordering Socratos to rush at the thunder warrior.

"Haha! You are a noob! Everyone knows that Zaborg is impossible to beat from the front!" his opponent laughed, before ordering the warrior to send a rush of lightning at the boy.

Yet, Lincoln did not flinch. Instead, he quickly dodged the stream of light, before quickly swapping to the warrior's Ice Axe, and bringing the weapon down in front of him, before causing a massive explosion of ice to blast Zaborg away. "You should be quiet. Too much talk and not enough action doesn't help your already bad skills at this game," Lincoln chuckled. _"Thanks for helping my trash talking skills, girls."_

After that, Lincoln quickly aimed the axe and threw it at his opponent.

"Pff, whatever. Your attacks mean nothing to me!" the man quickly countered and dodged the axe, causing it to lodge itself in a nearby wall. "I'm just gonna-" yet, before he could even finish his sentence, Socratos tackled the thunder king, forcing himto the ground

"You should expect the unexpected more," the boy shook his head in disappointment, before commanding his character to jump up and pull out his twin short swords once more. And, with a single strike, he lodged both of them in the lightning warrior's armor. "Now burn, go Flames of Muspelheim!" and with that, the blades glowed red with pure fire, before the warrior forced the armor apart, revealing the weak man beneath. And then, with one more swing of the blade lodged in the warrior, bringing the gauge to zero and removing him from the game. "That makes two."

"Grr. Whatever! I'm just gonna have sweep you now!" He shouted, though Lincoln remained undeterred.

"Heh, from what you've showed me so far, the only thing you can sweep is a floor," the boy had to hold back the feeling of throwing back in laughter.

"Lets go!" he spoke with a taunting tone. "I wanna see how you handle king of fire Thestalos!" and with that, a man dressed in red, samurai armor appeared before Socratos, its fiery arms ready to begin their battle.

Yet, Lincoln simply shook his head and laughed. "Man, fire against a warrior who's main weapon is fire? This is gonna be interesting… or maybe not. From what I've seen, the latter is much, much more likely."

"I'm gonna make you eat those words, Savvy!" he countered, anger and frustration filling his voice. Immediately after that, he commanded the fire warrior to launch a ball of flames into the air, which burst, causing a meteor shower upon Lincoln's character. "Chthugha's might!"

Yet, the white-haired boy simply smiled. _"Wow… I guess I'm really good at giving trash talk and taking it… I've managed to rile him enough to do Thestalos' strongest, but hardest-to-aim attack!"_ he smiled, before commanding the marked warrior to bolt at the incoming assault. "Man, you've must've missed day one training for this game!"

Without hesitation, jumped up, taking a step on one the burning rocks, before hopping to the next. Soon the warrior reached the burning orb and forced himself over, before raising his arm. "Axe! Return!" Suddenly, the icy axe glowed with harsh blue light, before dislodging itself from its stone prison and smacking into Thestalos, knocking him to the ground as it return to the warrior's hand.

"Now, lets end this game in style!" Lincoln declared, before typing in his next command. Socratos then gripped the axe with both of his hands, before swinging it down and diving at Thestolos. "Ability activate! Njord's Tempest!" And all Lincoln's opposition could do, was button mash as Thestalos was pierced and destroyed in a massive frost blast.

" _ **Match over! Winner: Savvy05!"**_ The victory text appeared on Lincoln's screen with that, causing the young boy to smile. "Heh, I can't believe I managed to pull it off!" He pushed himself free of his cubicle and stretched for a moment, before looking up at the other games.

From what he could see, the rest were going on still, with many of them being held at a draw, though no doubt one error would be made and a victor would soon be declared in each. _"Man… I guess years of having to handle my sisters judging me for everything really built up my skin to the trash talking that guy did…"_ a shiver rushed up his spine. _"What has this stuff done to me? He actually managed to get me to insult him! But… he deserved it, right? I mean, he insulted me for no reason other than trying to trip me up!"_

Suddenly, the thought crossed his mind. _"…Was that draw meant to dissuade me from going on?"_ the thought crossed Lincoln's mind, causing the white-haired boy to shake his head, purging it from his train of thought. _"No… if they wanted to dissuade me they'd…"_ yet, before he could even finish, his gaze fell upon the masked competitor, only to realize that there was a blindfold wrapped around their head.

" _H-he's playing blind?!"_ a chill ran up the young boy's back.

And almost immediately after that realization dawned upon him, the man stood up and shot his arms up in victory. No doubt if he could make out what the spectators were cheering about, it would be for him.

" _H-how am I supposed to comp_ ete with that?!" fear began to rush through his veins, before he shook his head and began to walk away. _"I'm fine, right… let me go find the girls, I'm sure they'll be able to help me out…"_ And so, with that, he headed into the stands. Luckily for him though, the next round wouldn't be starting for quite some time.

* * *

"Lincoln!" both Lana and Leni ran over and threw their arms around their brother.

"I'm so proud of you, Linky! You beat that trash talker into the ground!" Lana flared her arms in excitement.

The boy tilted his head in confusion. "You heard me?"

Lynn walked over and nodded. "Yeah bro, those mics are public to everyone watching your game," she walked over and slammed her hand against his back. "I guess all those years of livin' with us gave you a thick skin."

The boy smiled. "Heh yeah…"

"So, how'd you do, son?" Rita quietly walked over to the group, a soft smile on your face. "From the sound of it, you had quite the comfortable experience."

"Yeah…" Lincoln rubbed the back of his head, before looking back up at his mother. "Wait, you weren't watching my game?"

"Course I was," Rita chuckled, before holding up her tablet. "But as your coach, it's my job to help you prepare for your competition, and well, seeing what was to come was kinda more important sadly," she then ran her hands along the screen, allowing the profiles of the remaining competitors to come into view.

"…All right mom, all right…" he looked away and hesitated for a moment. "Mom… do you have anything on the masked player?" He glanced the stations once more, half expecting him to still be sitting by. _"I wonder where he went…"_

"The masked player?" Rita rubbed her chin for a moment, before snapping her fingers. "Oh, him," she scrolled for a moment before turning the tablet over to her son, revealing the image of a masked player wearing a handkerchief over their mouth and sunglasses to cover their eyes. "There's nothing much on him other than he's really good. He decided to blindfold himself for the first game and won a decisive three-zero victory," she chuckled. "Though, you managed to pull off a similar feat."

"Yeah…" his mind trailed off for a moment. "But it was against a trash talker…"

Rita chuckled. "In all my years of playing games, those who talked the most trash tended to be the worst players," she placed a hand on his shoulder. "They keep talking and talking trying to get into your head, but in the end, if you just tune them out, they have no power over you. I'll be honest, I'm surprised one of those guys made it this far."

"But… he ended up getting me to trash talk him back…" Lincoln's voice trailed off shamefully. "Am I like… one of them now?" While a thought crossed his mind. _"I'm… getting worse then…"_

"So?" Rita couldn't help, but chuckle at the sight. "That's normal! It's all right to trash talk back. If you can get into their head while stopping them from getting into yours, that makes you and even more dangerous gamer!"

" _I guess she's right about that…"_ the boy took a deep breath. "All right mom, I think I understand… so who's my next opponent?"

Rita scrolled through the current standings and smiled. "I think it's someone you already know."

* * *

" _Everything I've done is normal. It's all right to trash talk trash talkers back, just make sure you can back up everything you say."_ Lincoln repeated in his mind. _"Now, just stay calm and you'll be able to win this tourney…"_ he glanced back as he took his seat for the second time this tournament, taking the chance to watch the masked player one more.

This time, he held on hand behind his back, while preparing to give commands with the other.

" _Showboating… that's what it's called, right?"_ Lincoln looked away and refocused upon his screen. _"Mind games are just as important as the physical one. Break the mind and the body will soon follow."_

" _ **Round two is about to begin! Connect to your lobbies and prepare for your next battle!"**_ The announcer's call echoed through the room.

Without hesitation, Lincoln did so, allowing the communications channel to open up. "Sam?"

"Lincoln! You're my opponent?!" Disbelief filled the young girl's tone. "Heh, looks like the organizers wanted us guild members to go up against each other!"

"I guess so," Lincoln gulped. "Just so you know, I'm not gonna hold anything back. Even if you're my friend!"

"Good, because I'm not gonna hold anything back either! Let's go!"

" **Savvy05 vs. Legacy_Girl"**

And with that, Lincoln found his character standing in the middle of a massive city, with his opponent standing just down the block from him. "Looks like we're in Freedom City."

"Haha! Perfect!" Sambell replied, the young girl cracking a smile she knew her opponent would not be able to see.

 _ **Fight!**_

The moment those words echoed through the young boy's headset, he typed in his first command, ordering Socratos to raise his frost axe and charge at his opponent: a woman donned in pure blue armor equipped with shields pulsating with power. "Lets start this match off running! Go, Icicle Smash!"

"Well, well, well, sounds like you're not missing a beat then! Ability activate: blue layer defense!" immediately after that, the woman rose both shields, causing a silver hexagonal barrier to appear in front of her, stopping the frost attack cold.

Yet, undeterred, Lincoln quickly jumped behind the woman, before trying to send the axe into her back.

Without hesitation, however, Sambell dodged the attack, before aiming the two cannon shields and launching a burst of water at Socratos, sending him crashing into a nearby building, leaving an imprint in the wall.

" _Dangit, she managed to get the upper hand…"_ Lincoln immediately shook his head. "That's a minor set back," Before hey typed quickly, ordering Socratos to free himself and rush back into the fight

"I'm not gonna let you survive this that easily!" Sambell taunted, before commanding blue layer to jump at Socratos.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't!" Quickly, the marked warrior rushed to his feet and pulled out his twin short swords once more. _"Fire isn't that effective against water, but it's all I've got right now!"_

And with that, Lincoln jumped up from the building and dived at the woman warrior. "Go, Flaming Tornado Strike!" And with that, Socratos' blade glowed with not fire, before he spun, creating a massive tornado of fire aimed straight at the woman.

Yet, Sambell remained undeterred. "Go, Mega Blue Shield!" the warrior raised her shields once more, before launching a massive orb of light and the flaming tornado.

" _That's the opening!"_ Lincoln smiled with that, before breaking his attack attack, causing the orb of light to miss completely, before recalling his axe and coming down upon the warrior, embedding the weapon in her head, defeating her. " _Phew, close call."_

"I'll give you that one, Lincoln," Sambell chuckled for a moment, causing blue layer to disappear, leaving a strange ship in her wake… before a barrage of ninja starts flew at Socratos. "But this battle isn't over yet!

Immediately, Lincoln raised the warrior's shield, blocking the onslaught. "No breaks huh?"

"Of course not!" Sambell counter, before the attacker appeared behind Lincoln. He had sharp, green armor and was surrounded by a flurry of green wind. "Now perish! Vortex Strike!"

The ninja raised his arms, before launching a barrage of sharp-wind attacks at Socratos, slowly whittling down his health.

" _I have to stop the bleeding!"_ Lincoln frantically thought, before raising the shield once more, only for the harsh winds to force it shut, leaving Socratos open for the assault.

And soon enough, the warrior's health hit the red zone, with an accompanying beep ringing through his headset. _"There has to be…"_ suddenly an idea filled the boy's mind. _"Well… it's not like I have much of any other options!"_ he ordered Socratos to pull out his swords and hold them forward, providing minimal cover to the harsh winds.

"Meteor Meltdown!" Lincoln shouted, and with that, the blade glowed, before the axe broke free of its holder and joined the wind. Suddenly, fires engulfed the duo, before a massive explosion rocked the screen.

And when it cleared, Socratos was on the ground, lying in a pull of his own blood, while Green layer lay across from him, his armor shattered.

"Drawing that battle huh? Nice," Sambell chuckled, before commanding green layer to leave, resulting in a strange mechanical dragon staying behind in its place. "But you can't win this match by just holding on and not taking risks!"

"This'll decide it then," Lincoln steeled his gaze upon the screen as Aleister appeared before him. And opposing him stood a man in dark red armor with massive claws attached to his arms. "The warrior fighting the mage, how quaint," Lincoln chuckled, before commanding the wizard to raise his staff. "Go! Magical invocation!"

Suddenly, a massive rune appeared under Aleister, before dark powers began to overwhelm him, causing his arms to grow and contort wile bat wings emerged from his elbows. His legs grow and split, creating talon-like feet and his cloak ripped, revealing fire-like blue hair.

"Heh, Invoking this Caligula form huh? Lets see if you know how to use that!" Sambell immediately typed in her next command, causing Red Layer to bolt at the monstrous man, its claws immediately engulfing in flames.

Yet, Aleister caught the strike, though not without being forced to hold it back with his whole body.

"Ability activate: Darkness Sealer!" Lincoln shouted, and the staff in Aleister's back glowed, before a cloud of darkness enveloped the duo, before bursting with harsh light for a short moment. And when it was done, he had reverted back to his base form, but with red layer's claws now removed.

"Smart boy, disarming my character in one way makes it easier for you to fight," Sambell smiled and shook her head, though of course, Lincoln wasn't able to see. "You are aware of what happens next, right?"

Aleister raised his staff and glowed once more, causing harsh winds to overwhelm the man, and once they cleared, he was wearing pure silver armor with a sword made of lightning in his hand. "I am, and I'm ready for it," Lincoln countered with a smile.

Immediately, the red warrior glowed, before pulling out a sword made of fire.

"The real fight starts now!" the duo shouted in unison.

Instantly, a burst of light shined through the screens, with a massive explosion following soon after.

Quickly, both Red layer and Aleister rushed out, before jumping up, taking the chance to regain contact. "This isn't gonna end with a win for you, Lincoln!"

"Well you're gonna have to earn my losses!" Lincoln countered. "Go! Thor's hammer Crash!" And immediately after that, Aleister aimed the lightning sword and fired a hammer-shaped lightning bolt.

Yet, red layer and Sambell didn't flinch. Instead, the fiery warrior jumped over and rolled, before charging at Aleister and swinging once more, forcing him back.

Lincoln rushed back to his feet and blocked the next sword swing, causing both of them to hold their swords and button mash in order to break the tension. _"Come on, come on! I can't lose here!"_

"Heh, you're the first opponent that I've gone up against that's put up a fight!" Sambell laughed.

"Same, here!" Lincoln immediately forced the sword up, breaking the stalemate and allowing him to drive the sword into red layer's abdomen.

And yet, the warrior's health refused to reduce

"Heh, it's time," Sambell whispered, causing Lincoln's eyes to go wide in surprise, while the realization dawned on him.

 _"She wanted this to happen,"_ he mentally kicked himself. _"And I fell for it."_

Suddenly, a fiery lion appeared behind red layer, with a small white cat emerging from the fiery warrior.

"You've done well Lincoln, but bows the time to finish this match! Emergency Ability Activate! Magna Carrier Launch!"

And with that, the three robotic machines came to life and flew up, joining together to create a massive robot, the force of who's summoning, forced away Aleister's armor, leaving the wizard almost completely defenseless, save for the magical staff.

"Meet great Magnus!" Sambell cheerfully shouted. "Let's end this match, shall we?"

Adrenaline flooded Lincoln's veins with that. The giant robot had a red body with blue legs and green wings, with the dragon's head as one of the arms.

 _"How am I supposed to defeat that?!"_ Panic began to fill the boys thoughts, while hundreds of scenarios played out before him. _"I can't fight that thing directly, if I do… I'm gonna lose! But I can't bring anything forward that can take it on without wasting a chance… and I doubt RAID Raptor can set up in time… can it?"_

 ***Beep* *Beep***

That familiar sound echoed through the boy's ears with that, causing Lincoln's eyes to go wide in realization.

"Goodbye Lincoln! I'm sorry, but I'm gonna win the tournament!" Sambell declared. "Go! Hyper Cell!" And with that, the giant mech aimed its arm Cannon and fired. "I win."

"Not yet!" Lincoln countered, "Emergency Ability Activate! Omega Summon!"

Suddenly, a giant, rocky fist forced its way out of the cloud of dust. "When in doubt, a free transformation works wonders!"

"Then it looks like this is the final clash, huh?" Sambell couldn't help, but chuckle at the thought. If I win, your third warrior can't harm mine, and if you win, I lose."

"Then let it be," the boy smiled as adrenaline rushed through his veins. _"I must fight!"_ Lincoln smiled. "Ability Activate! Megaton Fist!" And with that, the massive rock monster engulfed itself in magma, before launching its fist at the robot

"Ability Activate! Quantum Magnaslayer!" And in response, the robot pulled out the hilt of a sword with no blade. A moment passed, before three colors burst forth, forming a laser sword in front of the mech, and with a rocket boost, it charged at the beast.

And when they hit, a massive burst of light filled the screen, followed by both being engulfed by a cloud of dust.

A few moments of stunned silence passed after that, with the duo both unsure of what to do next. Then, when the dust settled, both stood by, their health set to one for just a moment as they waited for the game to register the attack.

 _"Come on!"_ the same thought crossed both of their minds.

Suddenly, static forced its way through Magnus, causing it to fall to its knees, before going up in a massive explosion, removing the massive robot from the match.

 **Winner! Savvy05!**

"Good game Lincoln," Sambell spoke with a respectful, yet happy tone.

"Good game as well, Sam," And with that, Lincoln took off the headset and smiled, before he turned around, allowing his gaze to fall upon a certain, white-haired girl doing the same. _"Man, she's pretty awesome. I'm glad I was able to prove myself to her."_ He stood up and began to look around the playing field, causing his gaze to fall upon the masked man once more. This time, the crowd was cheering for him as he played his game and waved at them, clear not even bothering to pay attention to his game. _"He's good…"_

Lincoln took a deep breath with that.

"Nice game, Lincoln!" A feminine voice greeted, causing the young boy to turn to the source. "Oh, hi, and thanks Sam."

The girl throws her arms around him, pulling him into a soft embrace. "If you keep playing like that, I'm sure you're gonna win! I've versed a lot of people before, but never anyone as good as you!"

"Heh thanks," he whispered.

And with that, she let go. "I'll be rootin' for ya! Don't lose! The guild's counting on ya!"

Lincoln nodded in understanding. _"Heh only two more rounds left…"_ he glanced back. _"But what if I have to face him?"_ He quickly shook his head. "Whatever, lets go find the others. Next round starts in an hour or so and I need to be ready."

And with that, he walked off in search of the rest of his family. Though, of course, he couldn't help but keep his mind fixated on the masked man. If he remembered correctly, he had forced a draw in their qualifiers match. Why was that the case? And why was he showboating during the tournament? It's almost like he knew that no one could reach his level!

Carefully, he climbed the stairs up to the bleachers, waiting for his mother to come by. And after a few moments, she did so, a wide smile on her face. "All right Lincoln, you ready for next round?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah mom."

"Good, because you're versing Magnus again."

 **A/N And with that, another chapter falls into the history books! I hope you guys enjoyed! There's only one chapter left in this story and it'll be coming next week!**

 **And as always, if you'd like to talk to me or want to meet a fun group of people, feel free to PM or join the TLH discord server!**

 **Review Responses (C7)**

 **DreadedCandiru2: Yep, the Lynns are extremely different in their styles when it comes to dealing with Lincoln.**

 **Max (Guest): Thanks! I was a fan for a long time and it's something I held on to.**

 **Celrock: It seems that now he has gotten even further than that!**

 **Boris Yeltsin: I'm glad you enjoyed.**

 **Guest: I see. Well then I'll consider it, though I still have never played it and don't know much about it besides that.**

 **Bouken Dutch 2.0: His self-esteem is slowly building with every win.**


	9. A Machine's Endgame

**A/N And here it is, the last chapter of this story! I hope you guys enjoy! And as always, I thank my friend Aberrant Script for looking this over and giving pointers before I posted as well as Wolvenstrom for suggesting the idea and helping me out while I was writing it! And yes, the titles for the final three chapters are chess related, more specifically, how to play the parts of a chess game as dictated by the quote: "Play the opening like a book, the middle game like a magician and endgame like a machine".**

 **R &R!**

Chapter Nine: A Machine's Endgame

For a moment, a hush fell upon the child, his eyes going wide in shock. _"Too weak, too slow,"_ those words echoed followed by the image of an angelic woman her golden arrow through Lincoln's character, ending the game decisively.

"Are you all right, Lincoln?" Rita squatted down to her son's height and looked into his eyes in concern.

And yet, rather than answer his mother's question, he continued to stare out into nowhere. _"I'm versing him?!"_ He could feel his blood run cold, the cloud of feelings that had overwhelmed him days prior quickly returning. "H-how sure are you?"

"Very," Rita pulled out her tablet and turned it to face him. "The organizers set it up so that the world number one and two wouldn't be able to face each other until the very end… if they reach that far, of course."

Lincoln looked towards the floor and bowed his head. "Why couldn't I have at least gone against the other guy…"

Rita let out a breath and shook her head. "Lincoln, I had hoped that someone would have been able to beat him before he got this far, but… sometimes things just don't go the way you'd hope they would," she took his shoulders in her hands. "What's important is that you play your very best against him, that's the only way you'll be able to even stand a chance.

He looked down with that. _"This isn't gonna end well for me…"_

"Lincoln," the woman placed her hand upon the young boy's shoulder. "You're gonna be fine. I know you will."

"Mom..." Lincoln looked away. "Have you ever... lost to someone before coming back?"

"Too many times than I could count," she didn't hesitate to reply. "And each and every time, I was dissuaded from continuing on in that game. After all, champions don't like it when newcomers encroach on their territory."

"So how'd you get over them?" The boy spoke with a low, wavering voice.

The woman smiled and spoke with a calm, motherly voice. "I let those losses drive me," she stood up straight and looked it into the crowded arena. "I felt like I had something to prove, that I was the best, and I had to prove it to everyone watching."

"Also, don't forget, Lincoln, we're rootin' for ya!" Lynn jumped over and threw one of her arms around him, pulling him into a small hug.

"This isn't just a game to us!" Luan raised her finger with a smile, before throwing her head back in laughter.

"While the odds seem to be against you, elder sibling, I do believe that you will be able to succeed," Lisa adjusted her glasses, before raising a small calculator.

"Oh really, Lisa? What are the offs that I actually manage to win this round?" Lincoln tilted his head.

"Zero point zero one percent," Lisa shoved the device in her pocket with that.

"Whatever Lisa, sometimes you've gotta ignore the math and just go with your heart!" Luna glared at her younger sister, before refocusing her gaze upon her only brother. "So what if you're the underdog of this tournament? There's honor in being the Second One, the one that everyone overlooked." She looked into Lincoln's eyes and smiled. "After all, in a Republic of Gamers, we are all equals, but we all fight for dominion."

"And don't forget, Lincoln," Lori smiled and crossed her arms. "We're all literally rooting for you."

 **"Ladies and gentlemen may I have your attention please! Our final rounds are about to begin! Please take your seats and all four participants, please come down to the stage!"**

"That's my cue," Lincoln took a deep breath. "Thanks you guys."

"No problem," Rita rubbed her son's head. "You'll be fine. I'm gonna be watching your game from the coach's lounge, so you won't be alone when facing him."

Lincoln gulped and nodded. "All right mom, all right." Before turning and walking away, leaving his sisters behind, cheering his name, while his mother followed closely behind.

* * *

"And the stage is set for the final battles!" the announcer declared, before motioning toward the two stations next to him. Unlike the quiet cubicles of the previous rounds, the stage simply had two computers set back-to-back, no doubt setting up the now-visible audience as another obstacle to the victory against all perspective challengers. "It's time to meet our four final contestants!" He motioned towards the screen above, allowing the photos taken to appear. "First we have the master himself, Champion Adam Magnus!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd as the young man's profile appeared on screen, while Lincoln stood by in the hallway that fed into the stage, silently taking it all in. _"He's my opponent. The strongest master here... I'm taking on the champion, again..."_

"Then, we have the legendary Master and top contender for the title of world champion, Paul Fabiano!" More cheers eruptedfrom the massive crowd, as a young man with light skin and black, curly hair appeared above him.

"And this year, everyone, we have a new surprise! Rather than two titled masters topping this open queue, we have two unknowns joining us today!" the man stood up straight and motioned for the two profiles to move to the side, allowing the outlines of the remaining contenders to appear behind him. "The first of whom is a true unknown, our wildcard player!"

And with that, what appears to be a man dressed in a black hoodie jacket and wearing a black handkerchief over his mouth appears. "Nothing is currently none about this person besides they are extremely skilled, and no doubt interesting to watch. And if they win their match against Paul Fabino in a few minutes, then we'll definitely show off exactly how they've been winning before the final match!"

Grumbles resonated through the audience. It was as if no one knew how to truly react to the revelation. Now of course, in the gaming world, it was no surprise that there would be skilled, but unknown players among their ranks. But to reach this far in such a massive tournament without having so much as a minor title next to their name? Why, this was unprecedented!

"And last, but not least, will be the young man challenging Adam Magnus himself!" the announcer motioned towards the last profile, prompting the profile of a certain young, white-haired boy to come into view. "Meet the youngest participant of the semi-finals, Lincoln Loud!"

A hush fell over the crowd with that.

"So far, Lincoln here, while ranked only sixteen after round one, has successfully managed to make his way into the top four! But can this young man keep his cool as he takes on the world champion? We'll just have to find out, won't we?!"

The announcer then motions towards the doors at either side of the stage. "Contestants Adam Magnus and Lincoln Loud, come to the stage!"

" _It's now or never, Lincoln,"_ the young boy took a deep breath, before walking out onto the stage. From what he could see, the once clear area the organizers had left for the semi-final rounds was now open to the public, causing many from nosebleed seats to rush down in order to get a better look at the stage. _"I'm gonna be playing for a massive audience, I can't let myself be put off by this…"_ he mentally sighed.

The crowd roared as Adam walked on stage opposite the young boy. "Well, well, well, this is surprising. The challenger I beat in my exhibition game a few days ago has returned to redeem himself."

"I was nervous the last time I faced you, but not today, Magnus," Lincoln stood up straight and looked up at the young man, doing his best to at least seem brave enough to take him on. _"I know the odds are against me, but I'm not gonna let that get to me here!"_

Adam offered his hand to Lincoln. "May the better player win," he chuckled as he did so, while looking into Lincoln's eyes with a nonchalant gaze.

Lincoln responded by taking and shaking the appendage as strongly as he could, though he isn't sure if it was a strong enough impression. After that, the duo took their seats at the keyboards, preparing themselves for what was about to come.

"Begin!" The announcer declared, prompting the massive screens to show off the field the duo was about to enter: a simple grassy field in the middle of nowhere. "The map Sogen is on board! Here, there are few physical barriers acting as cover from enemy fire. The only way to win in this match is to fight!" he then raised his fingers. "Now for the count! Three!"

"Two!" The crowd countered.

" _One,"_ Lincoln mentally finished, before the announcer shouted. "Fight!"

"Well then, lets see if you learned anything from our last encounter," Adam leaned back and chuckled, before commanding N'tss to boost forward and attempt to impale Lincoln's marked warrior.

Lincoln grit his teeth and closed his eyes, his clouded mind trying desperately to command his fingers to follow. _"Come on, come on! Title or not, he's just another opponent!"_ Lincoln could feel his heart race, before he forced his eyes open and steeled his gaze, raising his sword to block as he did so.

And when the spear and shield collided, a massive wave of energy blasted around them.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well then, it looks like you did do something!" he typed away quickly, ordering N'tss to jump back, before corkscrewing over the block, slashing Socratos in the back. "But that's not enough to save you here! I'm gonna end this quickly!"

Lincoln grimaced, fighting to maintain his composure. _"He got one up on me…"_ he shook his head, purging the next thoughts from his mind. _"I can't let that happen again!"_ And in response, he turned jumped back, putting as much distance as he could between him and his opponent, before commanding the marked warrior to grab his ice axe and throw, immediately nailing the Entity in the back.

Suddenly, Magnus' once proud and overly confident smile turned to a disappointed grimace. "Lucky hit," he shook his head and commanded N'tss to turn. "Ability activate: Lightning Spear!"

And with that, N'tss jumped up, aimed her spear and launched several bolts of light at Socratos. Yet, Lincoln grit his teeth and typed away, ordering the man to dodge and swap to his short swords. _"I can win this, I can win this!"_ His heart raced faster than it ever had before as he typed in his counter.

"Ability activate: Prometheus Flame!" And with that Socratos stabbed the ground, causing a blast of fire to rush towards N'tss, before bursting up from below her, engulfing her in column of magma and bringing her health to zero.

" _One…"_ Lincoln found himself panting after that, forcing himself to look away from the screen as he did so. _"Just two more to go, just two more to go…"_

Magnus smiled. "I'll admit, you're the first person to start off a match with a win against me," suddenly, the man leaned forward, his gaze fixating on the screen. "Looks like I'm in for a treat!"

" _I have to win, I have to win!"_ Lincoln focused further, watching as the second character generated onto the field. This one clothed in yellow robes and covered in the powerful relics of a monarch. _"The king in yellow, Hastorr… he's looking to mess with me this time around."_

"Ability activate: Entity's Corruption!" Magnus commanded, prompting Hastorr to raise his hand. Then, before Lincoln could even respond, Socratos raised his twin swords, only to impale himself on his own blades, bringing his health to zero and ending the second round with a single attack. "For now at least."

Lincoln's eyes went wide in shock after that. _"He… just beat me without moving so much as a finger…"_ he immediately shook his head, doing his best to purge the fear building in his chest. _"No… I've gotta keep fighting!"_ He wasted no time typing away at the controls, ordering his next warrior to spawn in.

"One down, two to go," the man cracked a smile. "Still think that you can take me on?"

" _Remember, the battle is two fold, break one and the other will fall!"_ Immediately, the thought crossed Lincoln's mind. _"Break one…"_ suddenly, Lincoln found his eyes going wide in surprise. _"I have to stay strong, I have to stay strong!"_ He grit his teeth. "I won't back down!"

"Good, you've got to put on a show for the crowd, now don't ya?" The man chuckled "After all, they're cheering, they wanna see someone win this soon!"

" _The… crowd?"_ Suddenly, Lincoln found his focus breaking as a certain sound made its way through the noise-cancelling headphones he had been provided: the crowd's chants. _"They're… cheering for me?"_ He closed his eyes to focus, though he found himself unable to focus well enough to hear exactly what was going on.

"Go!" Adam shouted, Hastorr responding by creating a rod of light and swinging at Aleister.

"G'ahh!" Lincoln broke from his trance, only barely being able to order Aleister to raise his staff to block, causing him to be forced back. _"C-close…"_ his mind began to race faster than it ever had before, his train of though just barely hanging onto the rails as he mashed the buttons as quickly as he could, prompting Aleister to rush back to his feet.

" _I-if they're cheering for me, then…!"_ Lincoln's heart began to race, before he refocused his gaze upon the screen. _"Then they think I can beat him! And if they think I can, there's no doubt I can!"_ immediately Lincoln rushed Aleister back to his feet. _"Just stay calm, just stay calm!"_ And with that, Aleister aimed his staff. "Ability activate: Magical Meltdown!" Before he launched a stream of red light at the yellow-clad king, engulfing him in a blizzard of flames.

" I'll give you this, kid, you've got spunk," Adam smiled for a moment, before he quickly typed in his next command. "But spunk alone isn't enough to get passed me!"

Instantly, the flames vanished, the stream of light condensing into a ball of light Hastorr's hand, before disappearing. "I'm the world champion, and I refuse to lose to you!"

" _He's still going for it… he's unfazed…"_ more thoughts attacked Lincoln's already panicked mind.

" _ **Adam! Adam! Adam!"**_

His eyes went a moment, all seemed quiet, as if the sound-cancelling headphones had decided to stop working and open up, allowing the crowd to speak directly to him.

" _ **Adam! Adam! Adam!"**_

And all he could hear now, was the defeating sound of a cheering crowd.

"Kick his butt, Magnus!" "Show him who's boss!" "Stop putting on a show!"

 _"He's… been toying with me?!"_ Suddenly, the realization fell upon him. In the first match he had been overly destroyed and yet now, he felt as if he were breezing through! _"Does that mean... he's been letting me kick him around just to stir up the audience?!"_

"Sounds like the crowd's eager to see this end," Magnus smiled. "Thanks for the game, Lincoln, but I'm ending this!" And with his next command, the yellow-clad warrior raised his staff and free hand, charging up a massive ball of magical energy. "Ability activate: Madness Torrent!"

" _I've gotta dodge, I've gotta dodge!"_ Lincoln frantically typed away, desperately ordering his magician to get out of the way, and yet his effort proved fruitless.

"Hold him in place!" Magnus' voice echoed through the headset once more, commanding Hastorr to raise his rod, stunning Aleister in place.

And with a tornado of light, Aleister vanished from the field, leaving Lincoln standing at the respawn page, waiting to bring in his final warrior.

"Well Lincoln, you've fought well, but I'm ending this match," Adam leaned back in his seat and put on a smug expression. "So, why don't you respawn so we can finish this?"

 _"Is there a point to keep going? I know I can't win... he's... he's just too good compared to me..."_ Lincoln looked down, the timer slowly running out in the corner of his gaze.

 _ **"My, my, is the world champion too much for the young Lincoln Loud? Is he planning on resigning this game?!"**_ The announcer's voice echoed through the arena

 _"Maybe..."_ the thought crossed his mind. _"Back then and now… I'm stuck… I can't win, Magnus outclasses me so much…"_

"You can do it, Lincoln!"

Instantly, the boy looked up, his gaze moving towards a certain family dressed in shirts that spelled out his name. "You've never given up before, so why start now?"

"You're the best brother we could ever want!" They continued, no doubt if it wasn't for the screaming crowd he'd be able to make out who was actually talking.

"Yeah! You're kind, fashionable, rockin', funny, tough, deep, friendly and smart!" He heard them continue. "You're Lincoln Loud! And giving up isn't you!"

"Well, what's it gonna be, Lincoln?" Magnus leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, seemingly waiting for an expected response.

Slowly, Lincoln turned back to face his screen. At this point, the counter marked thirty seconds and counted down quickly, urging him to hit respawn and play with his final character. _"Despite everything that's happened, they think I can beat him. So what if the crowd thinks I can't win…"_ he steeled his gaze and took the mouse in his hand. _"For them, I'll fight!"_ and he hit the button.

"Still in this, I see," Adam couldn't help, but chuckle at the sight. "I'll give you this kid, you're either confident or stupid and I don't know which it is."

Suddenly, three razor-sharp feathers flew through the yellow-clad, causing him to fall back in surprise.

"What the?!" Adam leaned forward in surprise, allowing Lincoln's final warrior to come into view: a man clad in dark blue armor, with four mechanical wings attached to his back.

"RAID Raptor?" The man's voice filled with surprise.

"You know it! Ability activate: Metal Wing Smash!" And before the man could even prompt Hastorr to stand up, the mechanical bird man charged at him, before slashing the man to ribbons, removing him from the game without hesitation.

The man sat in shock for a moment, before smiling and spawning in his next character. "Well, well, well, this is it, Lincoln! You've decided to come to come to an open queue tournament with a basic warrior? I wanna see what you've got."

Lincoln didn't hesitate to nod. _"Yeah, I'll show you everything I've got! I will not lose here, so long as they believe in me, I can't lose!"_ Before commanding the winged warrior to rush forward, prompting his third opponent- a strange being made of countless eyes and mouths to disappear in a cloud of smoke.

Yet, Lincoln didn't hesitate, and flew into the fray, and watched as his warrior's health counter began to decrease. _"I cannot lose here! He brought out Nyarla as his rouge? Well then I'm gonna push its powers as far as I can!"_

"Mate, you just flew into poisoned smoke. What're you doing?" Magnus raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Yet, Lincoln chose not to respond to the man. Instead, he sent his character up, before its wings engulfed in flames. "Go! Ravaging rebellion!" The metal-winged man dived back into the smoke, causing it all to catch fire and explode, forcing the ninja to reveal himself, before crashing into the nearby terrain.

"Smart, but you're taking too much damage!" Magnus chuckled, with a command to follow. "Ability activate: Messenger of Azzathoth!" And with that, Nyarla disappeared into a pile of water, before re-emerging behind RAID Raptor and sending out thousands of tentacles to engulf him.

Yet, rather than dodge the incoming ordinace, Lincoln commanded. "Fly into it! Ability activate: Brave Claw Revolution!" and with that, the bird man changed forms, taking the shape of a mechanical falcon, before boosting toward the ninja, taking each and every hit as he did so, before slashing at him with his claws.

"You're crazy, this game is gonna end now!" Uncertainty filled Magnus' voice. "Ability activate: The Forbidden Trapezohedron!" and with that, Nyarla began to glow with golden light, only for the shadows to soon engulf it as well "This match is over!"

Yet, Lincoln simply smiled and glanced at the beeping red health bar. "Emergency ability activate: Death Double Force!"

Suddenly, Raidraptor glowed with pure, golden light, before blasting off into sky, spreading its wings like a phoenix returning from its ashes. Lincoln watched as the metal bird's flames dissipated, before being reborn, larger, with a crane-like neck and with a golden plate over its pure white chest. Its four wings fused into two simple wings, while two cannons emerged from its sides.

"You pulled off Rank-Up, nice," Magnus chuckled. "But I will not allow you to win! Emerge, Azzathoth!"

And with that, the shadows around Nyarla grew, before bursting forward, revealing a massive being made of thousands and faces and bathed in orange light. It wielded two dark hands that seemed to easily take RAID Raptor and crush him effortlessly. "Goodbye, Lincoln!" Magnus typed away. "Ability activate: The Forbidden Dream," and with that, Azzathoth raised its hands, before shadows filled the field and the moon appeared over RAID Raptor. "See ya!"

"I will not lose here! Not now!" Lincoln countered, determination filling his voice and the shadows engulfed his warrior. He mashed the buttons as quickly as he could. _"Last time, he won easily, but now, I will counter!"_ His heart raced, while his mind followed. "Ability Activate: Eternal Avenge!"

"What the… but you're trapped in the shadows?!" Magnus' voice filled with surprise.

"RAID Raptor doesn't care! Boost out of it!" Lincoln's voice filled with confidence, before the robotic warrior aimed his cannons down and fired, forcing him free from the mist that threatened to destroy him. "Ability activate: Eternal Avenge!"

And all Adam could do, was watch as a column of light engulfed Azzathoth, bringing its health to zero and ending the match.

 **Winner: Savvy05**

A hush fell over the arena with that, before thunderous applause roared through it, with the announcer declaring. "What an upset folks! The challenger has beaten the world champion himself, Adam Magnus!"

A soft smile formed on Lincoln's face with that, while his heart continued to race with the adrenaline flooding his system. _"I-I pulled it off! I won."_ Slowly, he pushed himself up, while his chair went back. He carefully took off his headphones and turned to face the crowd.

" **Lincoln! Lincoln! Lincoln!"** The crowd cheered, though the young boy didn't respond to that. Rather, he looked passed them and up at a certain family cheering his name. _"I couldn't have gotten this far without them."_

And with that, he bowed, before walking away… or he would've if Adam hadn't placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Huh?" Lincoln looked up at the young man.

"Good game Lincoln, good game," Adam smiled. "I guess you can't win them."

"Heh good game as well, and I know," Lincoln responded, rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

The man softly punched his arm. "Now, go win the finals, got it? I don't wanna see anything less from you."

And Lincoln nodded in response.

* * *

After that, Lincoln found himself walking down the hall to the player lounge with a bounce in his step, his head held up high, while his mind and heart continued to race after the match. _"I can't believe I pulled it off, a win against the world champion himself!"_

"Lincoln!" a familiar voice called out, prompting the boy to turn towards the source… only for his mother to scoop him up in her arms and pull him close. "You did it Lincoln, you really did it!" she pushed him out and looked into his eyes with a smile. "I'm so proud of you!"

Instantly, Lincoln replied by wrapping his arms around his mother as well. "Thanks mom, I did my best!"

"I know," she confidently replies. "And you've made it all the way to the finals!"

"Yeah… my first one…" suddenly, a wave of nervousness began to rush through Lincoln, his arms shaking and his grip on his mother weakening.

Yet, the woman simply placed him back on his feet and chuckled. "Heh, looks like you've got some 'First Finals Jitters' too," she ran her hand through his soft, white hair. "Tell me Lincoln, can you feel the hair on the back of your neck standing up?

He tapped his fingers together and nodded. "Y-yeah…" he shook his head. "B-but I'll be fine! I beat the world champion!" His voice cracked with that.

"Heh, just because you beat him doesn't mean your last opponent will be a slouch too," Rita chuckled at the thought. "After all, at this level it's rare to get two easy wins in a row."

"R-right," the boy took a deep breath, taking a moment to calm himself down.

"Anyways, Lincoln, are you planning on watching the last game? It'd be a good chance to see your next opponent in action," the woman squatted down to her son's height and smiled. "Or you can get yourself surprised instead and just go with the flow."

" _After everything that's happened… maybe a surprise would be best,"_ he let out a deep breath. "I'd rather just take a break for now, ya know?"

"All right then Lincoln, all right," she stood up straight and turned. "I'm gonna go watch the game, if you don't mind… and one more thing."

Lincoln raised an eyebrow and titled in curiosity. "What is it, mom?"

The woman turned back and placed her hands on his shoulders, before looking him in the eyes. "Lincoln, up until this point, we've all been by your side, doing our best to ease you into this competition. But when it comes time for you to play in the finals, it's all you."

"W-what do you mean, mom?" Fear began to force its way into Lincoln's voice once more.

"You're going to walk onto that stage alone," the woman finished.

For a moment, Lincoln stood by, the nervousness his mother had helped to dispel slowly returning. "A-are you sure?"

Rita nodded. "Yeah, I am. We've all done it Lincoln, Lori when going out to finally date Bobby, Leni when she entered her knitting contest, Luna when she did her first gig, Luan when she first performed stand-up, Lynn with her first tournament, Lucy when she played Royal Woods Theater, Lola in her first pageant, Lana in her first frog show an Lisa in her first major presentation; they all had to take that final walk on their own. And now, it's your turn. Clear your head and get yourself ready to give it everything you've got!"

Lincoln nodded nervously in response. "A-all right mom, I think I can do that."

"Good," she smiled and turned once more, before beginning to look away.

"Mom! Wait…" the boy called out.

The woman glanced back at him. "Yes, Lincoln?"

"Who's the masked player?" he quickly coughed, bringing his voice back to par.

Rita shrugged. "Not sure. Their identity will be revealed before the game itself… if they get that far of course."

" _I just hope the world number two will be able to take them on…"_ Lincoln took a deep breath. "All right mom…"

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine, good luck sweetie, if I don't see you before the final game!"

"Thanks mom, thanks," Lincoln replied. And with that, Rita and Lincoln parted ways, the woman heading out back into the arena and Lincoln heading into the lounge.

 _ **One Hour Later…**_

" _ **Lincoln Loud, please report to the stage,"**_ the final call echoed out at around six o'clock, snapping the young boy from his thought-filled trance. _"That's my cue."_

Mustering all the courage he could, he forced himself to his feet and took a deep breath. _"Whether it be Fabiano or that masked player, I am the best player here, I just have to prove it,"_ slowly, he stepped out of the room and began to walk.

The corridor was clear, no doubt left as such as to not disturb those resting in the lounge. Its walls were made of grey concrete with random pipes and lights dangling above him. If he didn't know any better in fact, he'd have assumed that he walked into a factory of some kind!

" _Everyone I know has helped me get here. The girls training me, mom pushing me and my opponents… challenging me,"_ with that thought, the events of the past few days reverberated in his mind. _"And it's all led here,"_ and with that, he stopped and stood at the edge of gate that lead to the stage.

Once the announcer noticed the child standing by, he smiled and raised his microphone. "It has been a spirited competition today folks! But now it is time for our final competition!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd with that.

"We first have up our young prodigy! Lincoln Loud! Right after defeating the world champion in a match, will go on to face our wild card player!"

A hush fell over the crowd with that. "In fact, it's just about time to reveal just who they are!" The man pulled out a piece of paper, and read through it quickly, his eyes widening as he did so.

"Well folks, I haven't seen this name in thirteen years!" Delight filled the announcer's voice. "Thirteen years ago, this woman retired after starting her family and finding herself pregnant for the forth time! And today, the legend herself has decided to come and grace us with her presence, as well as show that her skills have not been dulled at all!" He then motioned toward the gate opposite Lincoln, before finishing. "It is my honor to present the legend herself! The Ghost in the Machine! The fairy queen of everything mean! The Beavertown Butcher!"

Quickly, the man holds his earpiece. "No! You don't need to call the cops," he whispers. "She's the gaming one! You know, the girl who swept through a battle royale with no deaths and stuff? No, she's not the serial killer!" a few moments after that he took his hand off the set and continued. "Apologies for the interruption, and as I was saying, the woman who kicked the king of his throne the same day she put a coin in the slot, gaming' pregnant warrior. And the Dragon of Royal Woods herself, Rita Oak!"

" _Rita… Oak?!"_ Suddenly Lincoln's eyes went wide as the spotlight fell upon his opponent, his own mother, nonchalantly waving into the crowd from across the stage. _"M-mom was the dragon of Royal Woods?!_

The woman chuckled as she approached the announcer. "Actually, I go by Rita Loud now. I did get married you know!"

"Oh really?" The man couldn't help, but chuckle at the revelation. "Well, well, well, it looks like we have a mother fighting her son! It's been a long time since I've seen something like this! Tell me, Rita, did you train him yourself?"

The woman smiled and nodded. "I wouldn't let anyone else try, though I will admit," she looked out in the crowd, taking the chance to take in the group of standing by in the crowd, no doubt stunned by the revelation. "My ten other kids and husband helped as well."

"Haha! It looks like you've been busy since you retired!" The old man laughed. "Tell me, Rita, did you ever pass down your title as the dragon of Royal Woods?"

The woman shook her head. "No one was ever able to take it from me."

"I see," the man smiled. "And you're not planning on going easy on your son, now are you?"

"You know me well enough, Oscar. On the gaming field, we're all equals." She glanced at Lincoln, sending a shiver up his spine. "To me, he's just another opponent," she looked down at her son with a smile. _"But I still want him to fight."_

"How quaint then," the old man laughed once more. "The title dragon of Royal Woods hasn't officially been yours for years now. But from the looks of it, your skills haven't dulled at all," the man then turned to the boy. "Now son, did you know your mother was the legendary Dragon of Royal Woods?"

Yet, instead of responding, Lincoln stood by, his mouth agape at the fact. _"My mom… is the Dragon of Royal Woods?!"_ Suddenly, the realization hit him. The reason why she was so good at the game and new so much so quickly: she had played this before.

"Heh, my, my, boy, sounds like a cat's got your tongue!" The old man gave a hearty laugh.

The woman squatted down to her son's height and placed her hands on his shoulders once more, before shaking him. "Lincoln, snap out of it."

"G'ahh, what the?! I, but you-" he started to stammer.

"I know," she smiled. "But here, titles and ranks don't matter. What matters is the skill of the player, got it?"

Lincoln nervously nodded with that.

Determination filled her eyes as she stood up and took her seat, with Lincoln following soon after. "Now come on Lincoln, no more talk, it's time for battle!"

At this point, he found himself speechless, and yet was still able to put on a strong front and nod, before strapping on his headphones and getting ready. _"I can win this, I have to beat her!"_ the mental image of their first match cut across his mind. _"She was going easy on me then, I will not lose this time!"_

"And begin!" the announcer shouted, causing Rita and Lincoln's world to initialize, while the characters stood opposite each other, ready to begin. The stage was similar to the previous one Lincoln had fought in, with nothing but clear, flat plains for miles. However, this time around there were several volcanoes, caves, lakes, rivers, tornadoes and two golden stairways leading to a translucent platform just above them.

" _It's like this place was meant to give all of our characters advantages in this fight,"_ Lincoln's mind rushed in thought, which Socratos appeared before him. _"That means I have to use the terrain for cover as well. This is my final test!"_

"Ready Lincoln?" Rita spoke through the microphone. "We may be mother and son, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on you!"

Lincoln mustered up all the courage he could to counter. "I won't go easy either!"

 **Game start!**

"Ability Activate: Unity Stone Striker!" Rita commanded, prompting her character- a man dressed in pure blue armor decorated with golden highlights and a glowing red orb in his chest, to raise his hands to the stone and charge up a burst of light and send it at Socratos.

" _I've gotta counter!"_ Lincoln grit his teeth and typed in his next command, ordering his marked warrior to dodge the assault and rush forward. Then, with a frantic type he ordered. "Go! Prometheus Flame!" And with that, Socratos dived and forced his swords into the ground, prompting an eruption of fire below Tyr.

"Come on Lincoln! Too slow!" Rita shouted, before the warrior jumped out of the way, taking a moment to pull out a massive hammer and jump at Socratos. "Thunderbolt smasher!"

And in response, Socratos opened up his shield, trying to block, only to end up forced back and into a nearby patch of hard ground.

Suddenly, the memory of their first match cut across his mind. About how easily she was able to grab the initiative and gain an upper hand. _"Can I even stand up to her?"_

"Lincoln! Why are you looking away? This match has just started and you're just giving up?!" Immediately after that, Tyr bolted for Socratos once more, before he jumped up and raised the thunder axe, trying to crush the man with it.

Immediately, Lincoln commanded Socratos to dodge, causing him to be blasted away by the impact, though thankfully Socratos didn't take that much damage. _"I… I can't…"_

"You're playing not to lose right now!" Frustration filled Rita's voice. "You've gotta risk losing! You've gotta be at the edge of defeat. That's where you wanna be, the edge of defeat!" Rita chased after Lincoln's character, swinging the hammer as she did so.

" _But… If I fight I'll…"_ the thought tried to cut through his thoughts, only for another to intrude. _"And remember Lincoln, we're all here for you, no matter what!"_ Suddenly, Lincoln found himself standing before his sisters once more, their smiling faces filling his thoughts.

"We're always here for you!" Lynn stepped forward, punching his arm as she did so, with the rest of the girls following soon after.

"I know it's hard bro, but you can do it!" Luna followed up.

"Yeah! You're literally the best!" Lori wrapped her arms around him with that. And after that, the rest of the girls followed, pulling Lincoln into a massive hug, before Rita's next attack brought him back to reality.

"Lincoln! You're not fighting! I thought you wanted to prove yourself!"

Lincoln steeled his gaze and leaned in. _"That's right, I wanted to prove myself. I wanted to answer the call,"_ he turned and looked out into the crowd once more, allowing his gaze to fall upon his sisters once more. _"And no matter what happened, they believed I could, and I refuse to let them down!"_ Instantly, he commanded his warrior to pull out his axe and jump at Tyr, trying to get back into the battle. "Go! Leviathan's Strike!" And with that, the weapon coated its blade in ice, before clashing with the thunder hammer, causing a massive explosive upon contact, forcing both of them back in a cloud of smoke.

"Bought time you started fighting! I was starting to think you'd have given up before this game had even started!" Rita couldn't help, but chuckle at the sight. "Plus, it looks like you've learned from our last game!"

"What can I say? You and everyone else gave me the best training I could ever want!" Lincoln's hands rushed across the keyboard, not hesitating to order Socratos to jump back into the battle, puling out the twin short swords as he did so. "Ability Activate, Burning fire strike!"

Across the now-scarred battlefield, Rita commanded Tyr to do the same thing, while calling back the hammer and swinging to meet the fiery swords. "Ability activate! Megaton hammer!"

Suddenly, the hammer glowed with thundery power, before coming down upon the Socratos' burning swords, causing yet another surge of light to shine from the massive screens showing the game to the spectators.

"This is amazing folks! I have never seen such an equally matched final round!" the announcer's voice filled with surprise. "This match has come down to whomever will crack under pressure first!"

" _And that won't be me! I don't care that it's my mom I'm versing, I will win! For them, for me!"_ Lincoln stared at the screen intently. After the previous explosion, both him and his opponent had charged at each other once more, before clashing again and again, neither hesitating to parry the other's attacks, while trying to force an opening.

And yet, neither would yield to the other.

"This can't keep going!" Lincoln declared, before with one swing, both him and his mother's characters were forced back once more.

"Well then, what are you gonna do about it? You can't get me down that easily!" Rita countered without missing a beat. "Prove that you're better Lincoln!"

"I'm gonna make us move onto round two!" Lincoln took a soft breath. _"I can't beat her in a warrior's battle, that means that I'm gonna have to draw this and hope that magic and thief will be able to get the upper hand,"_ he then quickly typed. "Ability Activate! Meteor meltdown!"

And with that, Socratos raised his swords and allowed them to glow for a moment, before sending a column of fire above him, causing thousands of rocks to fall from the sky.

In response, Rita smiled.

"Thanks for the opening, Lincoln!" the woman typed quickly, commanding Tyr to raise his hammer and bolt at Socratos once more. "You've still got more to learn!"

Suddenly, the realization dawned upon Lincoln. _"She was waiting for this!"_ And all he could do, was watch as Rita's character slammed into his own, eliminating him from the game.

"One down, two more to go," Rita quipped.

" _There's no time to think of how to counter that!"_ Lincoln quickly typed in his next command, causing his next character to appear on screen. _"…she was able to get me to open up… dangit."_

And once initialized, he wasted no time typing in his next command. "Ability Activate! Meltdown invocation!" and with that, a mystical seal appeared in the sky above Aleister for a moment, before he raised his staff and slammed it into his back. Instantly, fiery red power began to fill his body. "Round two is here!" And with that, the Meltdown magician charged up a ball of light and fired at Tyr.

"Nice to see you're not out of the game yet!" Rita chuckled, before dodging the assault. "But you're gonna have to try harder than-" yet, before she could even finish her taunt, the ball of light boomeranged back, nailing Tyr in the back and eliminating him from the game. "Heh, smart."

 _"Good, I was able to equalize without taking damage. That means I still have a chance. I can't let them down!"_ Lincoln grit his teeth in determination, while the adrenaline flooding his veins caused his heart to race. "Heh round two wasn't that long."

"That's because round three is gonna be big, show me your true strength, Lincoln!" Rita couldn't help, but chuckle at that, before summoning her second fighter: a man dressed in blue armor and surrounded by a starry-blue mist. In his right hand, he held a light blue, seemingly holographic rod with a magical shield in front of it. "Because I'm summoning the magician of space and time himself, Astrograph Magician!"

"Gladly!" Lincoln quickly countered. "I will win this match!"

Rita immediately countered. "If you wanna take this house from me, then hit me with your best shot!"

However, Lincoln doesn't even hesitate to continue his attack. "Go, meltdown Enforcer!" immediately, the rod in his back glowed, before engulfing Aleister in pure light. And when it clear, he now rod a mechanical chariot and wielded the staff as a sword made of pure light. "Attack!" And Aleister fired a beam of light at Astrograph.

And Rita did not dodge.

Instantly, the blast forced the magician back, as well as knocked its health into the red.

 _"She played me again!"_ the realization dawned upon Lincoln, while his mother simply smiled at the turn of events.

"Heh, your best shot was just enough to set me up!" Her voice filled with cheer. "Magician of time, command the power of the four dimensions and create he who shall rule over the fifth! Emergency ability activate: Call of the Supreme King!"

And instantly, the field grew dark as the cries of four dragons echoed through it all. A cloud of dark mist appeared before the meltdown magician before dissipating, revealing a massive black dragon with long and sharp green lines of energy flowing through him.

"Wow an amazing sight folks! The Dragon of Royal Woods has successfully summoned the most powerful dragon in the game!

"Well Lincoln, it looks like I've got this in the bag!" Rita declared, "Titan Thunderstorm!" And with that, fiery red lightning bolts rained down upon the silvery knight, forcing him out of his armor and back into his base Aleister form.

"Anything you've gotta say before I end this, Lincoln?" Rita taunted with a smile. _"Come on, if you wanna show what a man can do, you've gotta beat him down and give him a reason to stand up again!"_

Yet, Lincoln remained headstrong. _"I have to win! I'm not gonna give up now! Not when I'm so close to victory!"_

*Beep* *Beep* a familiar sound filled his ears, bringing a smile to his face.

"Go, Supreme King's Rage!" Rita commanded, prompting the massive dragon to lean forward, before bathing Aleister in a pulled of green light.

And when it cleared, Aleister stood surrounded by a golden ring of light.

"Nani?!" Rita leaned forward in surprise.

"Emergency Ability Activate: Omega Summon!" Lincoln commanded, and instantly, the ring of light engulfed Aleister, creating what seemed to be a massive ship with golden sails above the supreme king.

"I will not lose!" Lincoln shouted, determination beginning to fill his voice.

"Neither will I!" Rita countered. "Supreme King's Wrath!"

The boy replied. "Elysium's light!"

And when the attacks hit, both warriors were destroyed, leaving them both eliminated from the match.

"One on one huh?" Lincoln quipped. _"Just like the first time I faced her..."_

"What a spirited battle today folks! Rita and Lincoln are so far tied! Whoever wins this battle takes the match! I'm at the edge of my seat!" The announcer shouted.

And wordlessly, the mother and son brought forth their final warriors.

For Lincoln, it was RAID Raptor, the mechanical birdman. And for Rita, it was a familiar face: a Valkyrie with a mystical scythe.

"Well, well, well. It looks like we're about to have a repeat of our first encounter, huh?" Rita quipped, typing away as she did so.

"Yeah, but things are gonna be different this time around!" Lincoln countered, prompting RAID Raptor the boost up and spread his four mechanical wings, before engulfing himself in flames. "Ability activate: Ravaging Rebellion!"

"No matter how different this is it's still gonna end the same! With robot parts broken over the battlefield!" Rita countered by having her Valkyrie raise her scythe and swing. "Go, Valhalla's Might!"

And with that, the robotic warrior's claws met with the Valkyrie's attack. *Clang!* they went, before breaking free and trying again, causing sparks to fly upon meeting once more.

"I'll end this quickly!" Rita shouted, before the Valkyrie forced RAID Raptor back and corkscrewed at him, wasting no time slashing at the man.

Yet, rather than relent, Lincoln shouted. "Ability activate: Raptor's Force!" Suddenly, thousands of laser-firing feathers emerged from the cloud of dust and fired at the Valkyrie, before RAID Raptor emerged once more, this time with two red main wings and two smaller tail wings. "I'm not going down that easily, mom."

"I'd be disappointed if you did!" Rita countered. The Valkyrie blocked with its wings for a moment, before forcing the arrows back with a gust of wind. "Evolve! Sigrun, the Valkyrie's might!" And with that, the woman emerged, now wilding two sets of Scythes, ready to skewer Blaze. "Go Heaven's Meteor!"

"Counter it!" Lincoln shouted. "Raptor's Thunderclap!" and with that, two lights fell from the sky and blasted both of them.

"Dauntless falcon, emerge!" Lincoln shouted.

"Queen of the Valkyries, emerge!" Rita countered, before two streams of light burst forward, forcing the clouds of dust away once more, revealing now both winged-warriors had gain a sleek new set of wings, with RAID Raptor now having two side cannons and having lost its two lower wings, while the Valkyrie had gained four metal wings

The streams quickly disintegrated with the two warriors charging at one another once more. _"I will not lose today!"_ Lincoln immediately thought, his gaze falling upon their life counters once more. _"I will win! And I will not let anything stop me!"_

Then, he let go of the controls for a split second, more than enough time to allow Rita to force an opening and force him back.

"It's over Lincoln!" She shouted, sending Freya to attack him once more.

Yet, all Lincoln did, was smile.

Suddenly, a column of light engulfed RAID Raptor once more, melting its wings and reforming them as six, sharp spikes with a golden ring holding them all together. "Ability Activate: Soul Shave Force! Falcon of ultimate creation raise your wings and soar on to victorious skies!"

" **This looks like the end folks! Lincoln has successfully summoned forth the ultimate form of RAID Raptor!"**

"That's nothing! It's time for the end!" Rita declared, before commanding her warrior. "Asgardian's Might!" Before she clanged her scythes together and allowed her wings to glow, sending an orb of light at RAID Raptor.

"This is the end, mom!" Lincoln shouted. "Go! Final Glorious Pride!" before RAID Raptor glowed with golden light, before a black orb formed before it, taking the shape of a small galaxy, before condensing into a black hole. "Fire!" and with that, the metal bird launched its ordinace.

And when the two orbs collided, the black hole forced its way through the light one, and engulfed the Valkyrie, bringing its health down to zero and ending the match.

 **Winner: Savvy05**

Silence overtook the arena with that, the spectators seemingly unsure of just what to believe.

Yet, after a moment, Rita stood up from her post and offered her hand to her son. "You did it Lincoln," she smiled while speaking with a joy-filled tone. "You're the new Dragon of Royal Woods."

Slowly, Lincoln's determined frown became a soft smile as he took it in hand. "Thanks mom."

And immediately after that, she threw her arms around him and pulled him into a loving embrace. "I'm so proud of you!"

Instead of responding, Lincoln simply leaned in and deepened the embrace.

" _ **I can't believe it folks! After everything our wildcard has done today, her own son has successfully managed to defeat her! The winner of the 2018 Open Queue tournament is, Lincoln Loud!"**_

And with that, the crowd broke off into thunderous applause, while a certain ten family members rushed the stage to hoist Lincoln up.

After that, a storm of "You did it Lincoln!" and "Congratulations" fill his ears, while he noticed his mother walk off to talk to the tournament organizers. No doubt about just how much of the prize fund Lincoln would receive.

" _I did it… I really did it. I am the greatest and there's no doubt about it…"_

* * *

"So Lynn, think it was a waste now?" Rita walked up to her husband, before turning back to gaze upon the sight.

"No…" Lynn Sr. hesitated for a moment. "But… he's gonna have to work harder. He needs to keep his grades up if he wants to keep playing."

The woman simply waved her husband off. "I have no doubt that he'll be able to. After all, he's a great student already.

"Mom!" Lincoln called out. "They're about to give the trophy!"

"Heh, that was faster than usual," Rita chuckled, leaving Lynn Sr. behind to watch, as a group of reporters took photos of the moment Lincoln shook the hand of the tournament manager and received the trophy from him, while the boy's mother stood by, a proud smile overtaking her face.

 _ **Later…**_

"All right everyone, I'll order some pizza," Rita declared as she and the rest of the Loud Family walked through the front door. "And Lori…"

The young woman responded. "Yeah mom?"

"Will you do the honors?" She continued with a smile, before motioning towards the trophy that Lincoln carried.

"Uhh what?" The boy tilted his head in confusion.

Lori smiled. "You've earned a trophy, Lincoln. You know what comes next, right?"

The boy's eyes went wide in surprise, before Lynn Jr. carried the trophy over to the case. "It's your turn to put it in, bro."

The boy's heart raced as he watched his older sister open up the trophy door and motion for him to follow.

Wordlessly, Lincoln approached the case, his mind hopping to all the times he watched his sisters do the same with their awards, and how full it seemed because of them. _"But I didn't have one to put in, now I do…"_ he smiled as he raised the trophy and tried to push it in… only to realize that the oversized trophy was just too big for his little spot.

"Haha!" Rita immediately broke down laughing. "I always had that problem with my trophies too," she wiped a tear from her eye. "Just leave it on the side and come on, lets go eat, I'm starved."

Lincoln looked upon his trophy once more, and smiled, before he and the rest of the family went off, leaving Lynn Sr. standing before the case. _"What did I ever give Lincoln? A fear of horror? Rita gave him everything he is… and he's even closer to her! No doubt Rita could tell me everything I had in common with the girls, but Lincoln…"_ He looked away. _"My son is nothing like me…"_

12-9-14-3-15-12-14 15-23-5-19 3-12-25-4-5 6-9-22-5 2-21-3-11-19 14-15-23

 **A/N And with that, this short story is finally complete! I hope you guys enjoyed! I thank everyone who's Read, reviewed and supported me along the way! I appreciate everything you guys have done for me!**

 **As for what's next, well, the Bun Bun story and the story following Lana are both in the works, though my 3** **rd** **year of college is taking its toll on me. As for a sequel to this, I do have an idea for it, though I'd have to find the time to write it as well.**

 **And as always, feel free to PM me, or join the TLH writer's discord! Until next time, I take my bow.**


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